Samsung’s Harman acquisition approved by Fair Trade Commission

Samsung Electronics announced late last year that it was going to acquire Harman International for $8 billion. Even though there was some pushback from minority investors initially who thought that the price was too low, Harman’s shareholders eventually approved the acquisition during the shareholders’ meeting earlier this month. The relevant regulatory approvals are now required before Samsung can close this deal once and for all.

The company has cleared one such hurdle. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has given its final approval to Samsung for the acquisition of Harman International. The decision is similar to the European Commission which also sees no harm in allowing the acquisition to go through. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission is of the view that this acquisition is not likely to cause a problem with regard to the Fair Trade Act and restriction of competition.

With this regulatory hurdle taken care of, Samsung is well on its way to closing the Harman acquisition within the timeframe it specified when it announced that it was going to buy this company for $8 billion.