[THE INVESTOR] Tech behemoth Samsung Electronics said Sunday that it has sold its shares in a total of four global tech companies, including Sharp of Japan and Seagate Technology of the US in recent weeks.

The series of stock sales are said to be in line with Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s push to streamline the company’s business portfolio and focus on flagship businesses, including smartphones and chips.

Samsung said selling the shares of the four companies -- Sharp, Seagate Technology, Dutch chip equipment supplier ASML and chip design firm Rambus -- would not affect existing business partnerships with the companies.




The Korean firm did not disclose the exact value of the deals, but the sales of the stocks are estimated to be worth more than 1 trillion won ($888 million).

“The sales of the shares are aimed at adapting to the changing business environment and focusing on Samsung’s core businesses by efficiently utilizing assets and past investments,” Samsung said in a statement.

Since purchasing stakes in ASML in 2012, Samsung has maintained a partnership with the Dutch chip equipment firm in developing a photolithography system, a key tool for rolling out high-end semiconductors.

In the recent stock-selling spree, Samsung sold half of its 3 percent share in the Dutch company.

The Korean firm sold off its entire shares, 4.2 percent, in Seagate, to which it had sold its hard disk drive business in 2011. Samsung obtained shares of the US HDD firm through a deal in 2011 and sold some of them along the way.

Samsung purchased 9 percent of Rambus in 2010 in a strategic move to utilize patents held by the US chip design firm.

The Korean firm sold half of the shares in 2011 and the remaining portion this time.

Samsung Electronics also sold its 0.7 percent share in Sharp, one of the largest liquid crystal display makers in the world. The tech giant has recently been putting more weight on more advanced display technologies than the conventional LCD such as organic light-emitting displays and quantum dot displays.

Meanwhile, Samsung handed over its printing business to Hewlett-Packard Inc. of the US through a 1.2 trillion-won deal on Sept. 12.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)