The Samsung exhibition stand features the prominent ”A new era of mobile agentic AI” slogan by the South Korean company Samsung Electronics.<\/p>\n
Joan Cros | Nurphoto | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Shares of Samsung SDS surged as much as 21.3% on Wednesday after global private equity firm KKR agreed to invest 1.22 trillion won ($820 million) of newly issued convertible bonds from the South Korean IT solutions and logistics provider.<\/p>\n
The deal comes as technology companies ramp up spending on AI infrastructure and digital transformation, with Samsung SDS positioning itself to capture surging demand for artificial intelligence services.<\/p>\n
Samsung SDS, part of Samsung Group and affiliate of Samsung Electronics, said in a statement that KKR will advise on mergers and acquisitions, capital allocation, artificial intelligence offerings and global expansion.<\/p>\n
“Through this strategic collaboration, we will actively explore a wide range of growth opportunities, including M&A by leveraging KKR’s expertise accumulated in global capital markets,” Jun Hee Lee, President and CEO of Samsung SDS, said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The proceeds will also accelerate Samsung SDS’s investments in AI infrastructure and strengthen its expansion as a full-stack AI solutions provider.<\/p>\n
A full-stack AI solutions provider builds and delivers every part of an AI system \u2014 from the basic computers and data storage all the way to the ready-to-use AI tools that companies actually run their business on.<\/p>\n
Samsung SDS also provides traditional cloud, digital transformation and logistics services to a global customer base across industries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shares of Samsung Electronics were trading up nearly 4% in South Korea on Wednesday, helped by a rally in U.S. technology stocks overnight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Against a backdrop of increasing demand for digital transformation and AI solutions, we have strong conviction in Samsung SDS’ market leadership and growth potential by playing a critical role in advancing Korea’s digital capabilities and infrastructure,” said Chung Ho Park, Partner and Head of\u00a0Korea\u00a0at\u00a0KKR.<\/p>\n
KKR said the investment will mainly come from its Asia Fund IV, and the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter.<\/p>\n
\u2014 CNBC’s Justina Lee contributed to this report.<\/p>\n