Samsung Electronics is significantly ramping up its M&A activities. With the acquisition of a ZF Friedrichshafen automotive division the tech giant has completed its second billion‑euro transaction of the year. The scale and frequency of these deals signal a renewed appetite for transformative investments far beyond Samsung’s traditional core sectors such as smartphones, displays, and digital signage.
2025: Samsung’s Biggest M&A Push in Years
The latest acquisition brings ZF’s advanced driver‑assistance systems (ADAS) business under the umbrella of Samsung’s Harman division. The move strengthens Samsung’s capabilities in automotive electronics, one of the company’s key growth pillars. By integrating ZF’s ADAS technologies, Samsung positions itself deeper in the autonomous and connected vehicle supply chain – a market expected to expand sharply as car manufacturers accelerate software‑defined vehicle strategies.
This step follows earlier investments in adjacent verticals such as data‑center HVAC solutions and digital healthcare, demonstrating how Samsung is broadening the Harman portfolio into more infrastructure‑centric technology categories.
Two Billion‑Euro Deals in One Year
The ZF transaction comes just months after Samsung’s purchase of Germany’s Fläkt Group (invidis report) for another 1.5 billion Euros. The HVAC specialist adds strong capabilities in mission‑critical climate control systems, including for data centers – an area experiencing explosive demand due to generative AI, cloud expansion, and edge computing.
Together, these two billion‑euro plus deals underline a decisive shift in Samsung’s investment priorities: toward industrial, automotive, and infrastructure technologies with long-term, stable growth prospects.
Four Major Acquisitions in 2025
Beyond the two headline transactions, Samsung has executed two additional strategic purchases this year: Sound United (Denon, Bowers & Wilkins, Marantz, Polk, and other audio brands) and the medical technology company Xealth.
This cluster of deals marks one of Samsung’s busiest acquisition years in recent years. The consumer electronics division has simultaneously consolidated its new‑business planning units to streamline strategic decision-making – another sign of a company preparing for a broader portfolio transformation.
Why Digital Signage and ProAV Are Not on Samsung’s Shopping List
Despite its leadership position in digital signage, Samsung shows currently no appetite for acquisitions inside the existing ProAV or signage ecosystems. Most potential hardware or component suppliers are considered too small to justify the transaction effort. Even more importantly, acquiring partners like integrators or CMS developers would risk destabilizing the channel-driven industry structure.
Generally Samsung continues to prefer a partner‑first model in digital signage – avoiding moves that could alienate integrators or disrupt long‑standing alliances across the global DS and ProAV value chain.
That strategy doesn’t rule out that Samsung or competitors explore new subscription-based business models in a mixed direct/channel go-to-market strategy to compensate dramatically falling hardware margins and to drive end-to-end lifecycle services.
A Strategic Rebalancing Toward New Growth Drivers
Samsung’s 2025 M&A spree highlights a clear strategic direction: diversifying revenue streams and becoming less dependent on cyclical and increasing Chinese supplier dominated consumer electronics markets. By expanding into automotive systems, mission‑critical HVAC, and healthcare technologies, Samsung is positioning itself for growth in sectors with higher barriers to entry and more stable long-term demand.
For now, the company’s digital signage business remains stable and channel‑centric—while the billion‑euro acquisitions are pointing toward a broader, more industrial future for Samsung Electronics.
