According to a businessKorea report, Samsung Electronics’ chief financial officer officially announced on January 28 that the company plans to actively conduct mergers and acquisitions and will focus on the automotive semiconductor industry.

The report pointed out that NXP, Texas Instruments and Renesas are becoming attractive acquisition targets for Samsung Electronics. Insiders in the investment banking industry said that Samsung Electronics has conducted due diligence on NXP and TI in 2019. In addition, there have been rumors that Samsung had considered acquiring NXP.

All three companies have their own advantages. NXP has outstanding technical capabilities in vehicle application processors (AP) and infotainment, and is expected to have efficient synergies with Samsung Electronics subsidiary Harman.

Based on its expertise in analog semiconductors, TI specializes in producing high-voltage power semiconductors, which are key device for electric vehicles.

Renesas is a leading manufacturer of MCUs, and this component accounts for the largest proportion of the automotive semiconductor market, about 30%. The company acquired IDT, a semiconductor design company, in 2018, thereby enhancing its capabilities in the field of autonomous driving semiconductors.

Automotive semiconductors have huge growth potential. According to market research company Gartner, the value of semiconductors in a single car in 2018 was US$400, but it is expected to exceed US$1,000 by the time autonomous cars become popular in 2024.

Industry analysts predict that this will be Samsung's largest transaction since the acquisition of Harman.