Commentary about LG and Zenith.................................
koreaherald.co.kr
Here's an excerpt of the "opinion":
<<On July 17, 1995 LG invested $351 million for a 58 percent equity stake of the U.S. last remaining TV manufacturer, Zenith. Changes in the international competitive climate have compelled LG to engage in its own aggressive research and development. Until the early 1980s. LG had obtained technology licenses from Japanese, European and U.S. sources through joint ventures and other strategic alliances. That has been no longer the case since the early 1980s because Japanese and Western companies have considered LG as a major competitor. Even if LG had been willing to pay the price the best technologies would have not been for sale.
LG Group is the third largest conglomerate in Korea. The group engages in just about every line of business, including chemicals, energy and resources, construction and engineering, electricity, electronics and communications, and securities, insurance and finance. However, LG Electronics is the largest among 50 principal companies for the group. In the old days, Korea's Lucky Goldstar Group, the predecessor to LG, was big but decidedly sleepy. Dominated by members of the founding family, the group lagged behind rival Samsung in high-tech fields. It was slow-footed abroad too. For example, they failed to make big gains in the U.S. television market.
Traces of the old days are now hard to find. The family has taken a backseat to professional managers. The name has been changed to the zipper LG. And after years of a cautious alliance with Zenith Electronics Corp., the group's LG Electronics bought majority control for $350 million in 1995. This bold move catapulted the company ahead of Samsung in the fields of high definition television (HDTV) and multimedia. Zenith's HDTV and multimedia technologies have been among the world's best. LG Electronics would provide its production technology to Zenith, while the American company would provide its HDTV and multimedia technologies to LG. >> |
