Samsung completes acquisition of Harman International

As expected, Samsung Electronics has announced it has officially completed its previously announced acquisition of Harman International. The automotive and consumer electronics company was purchased by Samsung for approximately $8 billion in cash. The now former Harman stockholders will receive $112 for each of their shares.

Even though Samsung now owns Harman, the company will continue to be run as a stand alone Samsung subsidiary. It will still have its own board of directors, which will have Young Sohn, the President and Chief Strategy Officer of Samsung Electronics, as its chairman. Harman CEO Dinesh Paliwal will continue in that role, and all of the company’s workforce and facilities will be retained, along with all of its its consumer and professional audio brands. That includes Harman/Kardon, the audio brand which has been used for speakers and audio technology inside a number of smartphones, tablets and PCs.

Samsung previously stated its main interest in acquiring Harman was because it wanted its automotive business, which generates the majority of the company’s annual revenues. However, it’s a safe bet that its well-known audio products could find a way inside some of Samsung’s upcoming smartphones at some point. We will have to wait and see how this huge acquisition will affect Samsung in general, and with its mobile devices in particular.