Samsung Electronics announced on Wednesday that it has acquired PrintOn, a Canada-based mobile printing solutions company, the latest on the tech giant’s growing list of acquisition deals.

Samsung, which had been inactive in making deals compared with its competitors in Silicon Valley, has recently been aggressively buying a number of tech companies to fit with its mobile business.

Samsung has bought about 10 companies since last year, including SmartThings, an open platform developer for connected home appliances, and Quietside, a distributor of heating, ventilation and air conditioners.

The number of deals it has made still pales in comparison to Google, Apple or Facebook, which acquire more start-ups, ranging from robotics to virtual reality, in a month than Samsung buys in a year.

However, market watchers said with an era approaching in which every object will be connected to the Internet, Samsung’s thirst for M&As is unlikely to be quenched anytime soon.

“Its investment and research center in Silicon Valley shows that Samsung wants to be near the tech hub to see the latest trends and find the next potential technology,” said an industry source.

The tech sector has changed, with more start-ups becoming part of big and established players through M&As and fewer start-ups growing into big companies, industry observers said.

Samsung’s M&As seem to suggest that it seeks to establish an ecosystem in smart home systems using its leverage as the world’s biggest electronic appliance maker.

Whereas Google dominates in the smartphone and app ecosystems with its open-source Android platform, and Microsoft is on top in the personal computing market with its Windows and Office suites, Samsung may seek to lead an ecosystem for the Internet of Things through acquisitions.

With the acquisition of PrinterOn, which also uses cloud computing technology for printing, the Korean tech company aims to bolster its position in connected appliances and solutions for homes and offices.

“The acquisition is expected to reinforce Samsung’s expansive mobile ecosystem, particularly for the company’s business-to-business customers, as well as further Samsung’s leadership in the standardization of mobile printing,” the company said in a press release.

“In light of the rapid proliferation of smartphones and tablets in schools and offices, PrinterOn’s solutions have been designed to meet a growing need for mobile printing solutions that allow users to print from any mobile device to any printer they choose.”

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)