Seoul - South Korean electronics group Samsung made further steps in a long-running restructuring plan Wednesday by announcing that it would sell stakes in four of its subsidiaries to another South Korean conglomerate.
Shares in defence subsidiaries Samsung Techwin and Samsung Thales, as well as Samsung General Chemicals and Samsung Total Petrochemicals would be sold to the Hanwha group, Samsung said, in a deal expected to be signed in the first half of 2015.
The deal would be worth 1.9 trillion won ($1.72bn) in total, said Samsung, best known for its smartphones and consumer electronics.
Samsung is in the middle of a long-running reorganisation, intended to smooth the transfer of assets from the current chairman, Lee Kun Hee, to his children, Yonhap News Agency reported.
In May, chairman Lee had a heart attack. His son, Lee Jae Yong, is seen as favourite to succeed his father.
Hanwha, whose businesses cover materials, chemicals, construction and solar energy, is South Korea's tenth-largest company.