Samsung Electronics Co. will buy U.S-based luxury home appliance maker Dacor Inc., a move that is expected to pave the way for the South Korean tech giant to expand its presence in high-end home appliance and home remodeling markets in North America.

The electronics maker said on Thursday that it entered into an agreement to purchase Dacor at an undisclosed amount. The American appliance maker will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics America and maintain its corporate identity and brand after the acquisition.

Founded in 1965, the American home appliance manufacturer has been a renowned premium home appliance brand in the North American housing and home remodeling market. It mainly supplies built-in kitchen appliance such as ranges, cooktops, wall ovens, refrigeration, ventilation and wine preservation.

The Korean electronics maker hopes to leverage Dacor’s expertise to jump-start its upmarket home appliance business in the U.S. and to advance into the business-to-business (B2B) industry such as housing construction market.

Samsung Electronics has its own luxury home appliance lineup that generates higher profitability than its general appliance lineups targeting mass consumers, but the business is still in its infant stages compared to its general home appliance business.

According to market researcher Traqline, Samsung Electronics topped the U.S home appliance market in the category of refrigerator, washing machine, oven, microwave oven, and dish washer, during the March-June period with a 16.7 percent market share.

The latest buyout comes after a series of the Korean tech giant’s acquisitions of foreign tech ventures. It took over U.S-based cloud service provider Joyent Inc in June to enhance its mobile communication services and software followed by another deal of acquiring Canada-based digital advertising firm AdGear. In August 2014, it purchased a U.S-based air-conditioner firm Quietside and prepared a foothold into the B2B market.

Dacor is the second foreign home appliance maker that Samsung Electronics has purchased in about seven years after it took over Poland-based electronics maker Amica in 2009 to secure a home appliance production base in Europe.

By Lee Seung-hoon

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]