Meritz Securities evaluated on the 2nd that Samsung Electronics is likely to generate captive sales for Rainbow Robotics, in which it has secured a major shareholder position. Rainbow Robotics' previous trading day's closing price was 162,700 won.
Earlier, on 31st December, Rainbow Robotics disclosed that it had signed a stock transfer agreement involving a change in major shareholders. Samsung Electronics exercised its call option on Rainbow Robotics, increasing its equity stake from 14.7% to 35.0%, thereby becoming the largest shareholder. Rainbow Robotics is expected to be incorporated as a subsidiary in the consolidation financial statements of Samsung Electronics.
Lee Ji-ho, a researcher at Meritz Securities, noted, "Samsung Electronics is expanding its equity stake in Rainbow Robotics while simultaneously establishing a Future Robot Promotion Team directly under President Han Jong-hee," and added, "It is expected that the integration of Samsung Electronics' artificial intelligence (AI) and software technology with Rainbow Robotics' robot hardware technology will accelerate humanoid development."
Furthermore, it was anticipated that there is a possibility of reallocating Samsung Electronics' research and development (R&D) personnel from its robot business team, which was dissolved in May and reassigned under Samsung Research, to the promotion team. This researcher stated, "O Jun-ho, the former largest shareholder of Rainbow Robotics, is expected to serve as the Director General of the Future Robot Promotion Team and as an advisor to Samsung Electronics, solidifying the focus on humanoid-centered development, and synergy effects between the two companies are anticipated."
He also mentioned, "With the launch of the synergy consultative body, Rainbow Robotics is likely to see an increase in captive sales towards its affiliates, and with the expanded global sales infrastructure, exports are expected to materialize within the year," adding, "The unveiling of the bipedal humanoid prototype, which is being developed with a goal of release early this year, may be slightly delayed due to the process of being incorporated as a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, but efforts should be focused on securing competitiveness based on interoperable portable devices, home appliances, and robots/humanoids in the mid-to-long-term."