Samsung Electronics sells all shares of ASML

Samsung Electronics has confirmed the sale of its entire stake in Dutch semiconductor equipment company ASML. According to Samsung Electronics' Feb. 21 audit report, the company sold its entire stake of 1,584,070 shares (0.4 percent of shares) in ASML in the fourth quarter of last year. Based on the previously disclosed value of ASML's shares, it is estimated that the sale of the remaining shares will yield approximately 1.2 trillion won. As a result, Samsung Electronics continues to hold shares in Corning, Wonik Holdings, SFA and Wacom.

　　In 2012, Samsung Electronics acquired a 3.0% stake in ASML for about KRW 700 billion to collaborate on the development of next-generation lithography.In 2016, Samsung sold half of its shares to recoup its investment and gained about KRW 600 billion. Last year, Samsung began selling its remaining shares, gaining about 3 trillion won in the second quarter and about 1.3 trillion won in the third quarter.

　　The total amount of stake sales estimated based on the book value (market value) of ASML disclosed by Samsung Electronics is about 6.1 trillion won. This includes about 5.5 trillion won from last year's sales and 600 billion won from 2016's sales, which makes the return on the 700 billion won investment about 8 times.

　　It is understood that the move to sell shares in ASML is aimed at raising funds for semiconductor investments, with the intention of diversifying investment sources in anticipation of an upturn in semiconductors.

　　Despite last year's sluggish performance, Samsung Electronics invested a record 28.34 trillion won in research and development, and from 2022 onwards to match its historical facility investment of 53.1 trillion won.