Samsung under pressure to spend (RCR Mobile Minute)

Mobile Minute:
Samsung could be shopping for acquisitions soon — the South Korean government has told the company to put its cash to work or risk a fine. The government has its eye on Samsung’s $60 billion cash pile and would like to see that money distributed to households as dividends paid to Samsung shareholders. (Corporate profits have been growing faster than household income in South Korea.)
The government is proposing a 10% tax on “excess” cash held by large companies, and lawmakers would have the authority to define “excess.” If the law passes, companies that want to avoid the tax will have some choice about how they get their cash out into the economy. Dividends are certainly one option, but Samsung may instead choose a strategic acquisition or two. Even before the latest moves by lawmakers, analysts were predicting that Samsung would look for an acquisition that could expand its footprint. There are several struggling smartphone makers that Samsung could swallow, but the company might also branch out into a related industry, like software. It already makes devices, chips, and network gear, so networking software could be the next logical extension.
In other news, Sprint and T-Mobile US are in an all-out price war. For more on that see the video below.