Korean hedge fund Life Asset urges Samsung to buy back and cancel preferred shares to boost valuation

(1) A South Korean hedge fund has urged Samsung Electronics to repurchase and cancel its preferred shares, becoming one of the first shareholders to directly promote this move with the aim of boosting the company's valuation. (2) Life Asset Management sent a letter to Samsung's board and management this week, calling on the South Korean tech giant to buy back and cancel preferred shares until the price gap with common shares is eliminated. (3) The fund requested that Samsung's board consider this plan at its October meeting and cancel the relevant shares by the end of December. (4) Life Asset's call suggests the chip manufacturer is facing increased shareholder pressure after Samsung recently announced its plan to return up to 110 trillion won (81.7 billion USD) to investors this year, sharing the substantial wealth generated by the AI boom. (5) While Samsung has not yet fully disclosed the details, industry observers have already emphasized that, given the steep discount of preferred shares relative to common shares, the company should repurchase preferred shares.