Samsung may spin-off its foundry division

Word is going around that Samsung Electronics is looking at options to make its semiconductor business stronger. EE Times reports the South Korean giant is considering to spinoff its foundry division, a move spurred by losing Apple's SoC business to TSMC.

Furthermore, Samsung Electronics is also considering a reorganization that would combine its SoC and LSI segments under one fabless semiconductor division.

As the site report, Samsung is currently world's fourth largest foundry supplier, but its marketshare is just 5 percent:

Samsung is the fourth largest foundry supplier in the world, with a marketshare of roughly 5%, trailing only dedicated foundries Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), Globalfoundries Inc. and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC). Samsung’s foundry business is the largest of any integrated device manufacturer.