July 18, 2014

Samsung may buy SmartThings for home automation technology

Previous acquisitions have been discussed on this blog in which companies purchase other businesses in order to gain the technology they need to stay competitive with today's trends. As consumers continue to use mobile devices and other types of technology that connects to the Internet, the demand for "smart" technology is increasing. 

This is one of the reasons why Samsung is reportedly talking with SmartThings, a company that creates technology for the home that can be controlled by a cell phone app. According to an article in Tech Crunch, the companies have been considering a $200 million deal that has not been finalized. 

Samsung is not the only company interested in home automation products. Other major players like Apple and Google have made their own acquisitions of companies making similar technologies. Each of these large companies have acquired smaller ones to add to their portfolio of offerings and enable them to stay competitive with up and coming technologies in the marketplace. 

According to an article in GigaOM, the Samsung SmartThings acquisition would provide benefits to both companies, giving Samsung the technology it needs and allowing SmartThings to have access to more funding that will allow that company to improve its product and attract more customers. As has been mentioned previously on this blog, an acquisition or merger can often be an opportunity for a smaller company to access more resources, allowing it to create better products. 

In the highly competitive tech space, businesses looking for an edge over other players in the market may seek to make a deal that allows them to obtain new technology. For companies creating these types of technologies, this represents an opportunity. To learn more about how to develop an acquisition strategy, contact an experienced M&A advisor