According to Yonhap News,

(SEOUL=Yonhap News) The mergers and acquisition (M&A) activities by South Korean firms in information and communications technology (ICT) have almost doubled in 2015 from a year ago, as they seek to branch out amid a fast-changing industry, a report showed Tuesday.

The number of M&As by local ICT firms between Jan. 1 and May 20 reached 29, compared with 15 tallied for the same period last year, according to a report by the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Promotion.

Most of them were domestic deals, signed between South Korean companies, except five cases that involved foreign firms, the report said.

Software firms accounted for nearly half of the M&A activities during the cited period, with 14 cases related to the Internet service, application software, data processing and home entertainment fields.

Semiconductors and parts-making companies took up 34.5 percent with 10 cases, followed by three telecom-related M&As and two others involving hardware firms, the report said.

Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's tech giant, has made an aggressive move this year with a slew of acquisitions. In February, it bought U.S. mobile technology firm LoopPay Inc., which holds patent rights related to magnetic stripe and barcode technology, as it prepares its own mobile payment system, Samsung Pay, for a July debut.

It also took over YESCO Electronics, a U.S. light-emitting diode (LED) display maker in March, as part of its push into the digital signage business.

Daum Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's most popular mobile messenger KakaoTalk, acquired the provider of a smartphone navigation app to gain an edge in mobile mapping service as it expands its taxi-hailing app.

"M&A activities have become a must for South Korean ICT companies that need to secure new growth drivers while adapting to a fast-changing ICT paradigm," the report said.

elly@yna.co.kr

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