Samsung has invested in rival smartphone maker Pantech. The $48 million investment makes Samsung the third largest investor in Pantech. Details coming from Samsung tell the story of how this investment will help to “further solidify” their relationship with Pantech. This also places Samsung behind Qualcomm and the Korea Development Bank in terms of investors.
Qualcomm is the top investor in Pantech at the moment with an 11.96 percent stake. Korea Development Bank is sitting close to Qualcomm with an 11.81 percent stake. The $48 million coming from Samsung was enough to secure a 10 percent stake. The key here though, while Samsung has a 10 percent stake in Pantech, they will remain hands-off.
In fact, in a statement provided to The Next Web, Samsung said they will have “no involvement in Pantech’s business management in any way or form.” As far as the earlier solidifying comment, this goes to the current relationship between the two companies. In the previous year, Pantech is estimated to have spent nearly $211 million on buying components from Samsung.
While Samsung will remain hands-off, this is still an interesting investment as the two companies both produce smartphones. The one catch with that, while Samsung remains a popular option for those in the US, Pantech doesn’t have the same brand recognition. Of course, that is not to say that Pantech doesn’t have any devices available in the US.
In fact, Pantech recently released the Perception with Verizon Wireless. This handset is sporting a 4.8-inch 720p display along with a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 2020 mAh battery and 8 megapixel rear-facing camera. While Pantech sort of slipped by launching the Perception with Ice Cream Sandwich, we can at least take some comfort in the price — $99 on a two-year agreement.
VIA: SlashGear
SOURCE: Yonhap News
