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Samsung Shareholders Calls For Company Split; Tech Giant Mulls Proposal To Boost Value

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Samsung has had a rough 2016 amid the recall of its dismal Galaxy Note 7 alongside the recall of 2.8 million washing machines and mounting pressure from disgruntled shareholders calling for the company to split in two.

Aside from being beset with recall problems, Samsung is also embroiled in a political scandal which led its Samsung Group's Seoul offices to be raided by authorities on three separate occasions, according to c|net. The raid stems from allegations of corruption involving South Korean president Park Geun-Hye for allegedly influencing Samsung's merger plans last year.

For the moment, news of Samsung's split spearheaded by U.S. fund Elliott Management may still be unclear but Samsung said it will disclose plans for boosting shareholder value. Last month, the company announced it is considering in buying back more of its shares, Reuters reported.

Elliot Management which owns 0.6 percent stake in Samsung also calls for three additional independent board members, calls for the company to list the shares on the US stock market and pay out a special dividend amounting to 30 trillion won ($26 billion) to shareholders.

In its current state, Samsung's assets are spread across multiple affiliated businesses that make a valuation of the company as a whole more difficult. Splitting the company will result in a holding company and an operating company being created from one business entity.

If Samsung decides to push through with a split, a holding firm could bring all affiliated business under one overarching name, making it easier to value the entire Samsung Electronics organization. Samsung has not issued any confirmation whether it is serious in considering the split, although Reuter's anonymous source say the company is thinking about it.

Samsung has put in 5.2 trillion won ($4.5 billion) in operating profit during its worst performance in two years, down nearly 30 percent year over year.

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