Samsung Electronics will sell its fiber business to specialty materials vendor Corning, in a bid to free up resources to dedicate to the company's flagging smartphone operations.
Samsung and Corning have revealed they expect to complete the transaction by the first quarter of 2015. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
With the purchase Corning will acquire Samsung's fiber and cable business, its manufacturing facilities in South Korea and China, as well as customers in South Korea, China and Southeast Asia.
Corning revealed it plans to incorporate Samsung's fiber business into its existing Corning Optical Communications business.
“We are very excited about the growth opportunities in Korea and the emerging economies in Southeast Asia,” Corning Optical Communications EVP Clark S Kinlin said.
“Once we are joined by Samsung Electronics’ experienced workforce, I look forward to the team building out Corning’s global scale and scope to better meet customer needs for innovative fiber optic solutions.”
A Samsung spokesperson toldReuters that the company is conducting the divestment to allow it to concentrate on core areas including its smartphone business. It follows the sale of the company's LED business in October.
Samsung's smartphone sales growth is slowing down significantly and this is affecting the vendor's bottom line.
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