Samsung Electronics has significantly reduced its stake in ASML. It has disposed of more than half of its shares in ASML.
South Korean Samsung Electronics sold more than half of the ASML shares it owned. That’s according to the tech giant’s half-year report made public in late July. Samsung had a poor quarter, profits were down 90 percent, and disappointing smartphone sales were partly to blame for this.
After digging a little deeper, something else stood out. Namely, the company sold quite a few shares of the Dutch company ASML after announcing its first-quarter sales figures. Previously, Samsung was said to hold 6.3 million shares, and according to the latest report, only 2.75 million shares remain.
Samsung would like to use the money from the sale to set up a new chip production line, reports Reuters based on South Korean media. At the current share price, the sale is worth 2.1 billion euros.
Groundbreaking microchips
ASML is a chip machine builder and was visited by Samsung’s vice-chairman of the board just a year ago. In this way, the tech giant wanted to assure itself of the supply of ASML machines. ASML’s devices that work with extreme ultraviolet radiation (EUV) are particularly interesting but have a limited supply.
The visit resulted in the deal to send EUV machines to Samsung as late as 2022. This year followed the shipment of high-NA EUV chip machines, the world’s most advanced chip manufacturing machines.
Samsung wants to use the machines to produce groundbreaking microchips. To achieve this goal, a new chip manufacturing line will be required. There is money needed to make this happen, but as poor quarterly earnings continue to pile up for Samsung, this money will not simply be laying around.
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