Jo Joo-wan, LG Electronics CEO, "Interested in M&A in Adjacent Industries and Seeking Investment Opportunities"

26th Shareholders' Meeting Inquiry Reveals
"Fields Will Include Platform and B2B, etc."
Discussed Strengthening Partnership with Meta's Zuckerberg

Jo Joo-wan, CEO of LG Electronics, avoided giving specific answers regarding merger and acquisition (M&A) plans on the 26th but stated that the company is "seeking investments in adjacent industries to LG Electronics."

At the LG Electronics regular shareholders' meeting held at the LG Twin Towers in Yeouido, Seoul, Jo CEO responded to an online shareholder inquiry about whether there would be any significant M&A in the near future. He said, "We are interested in joint ventures (JV) or M&A and are reviewing them, but what we can quickly show you is recent equity investments," adding, "I think we will be able to talk about it soon."

LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan is declaring the opening of the 22nd Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on the 26th at LG Twin Towers in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by LG Electronics

Immediately after the shareholders' meeting, Jo CEO also explained to reporters about the M&A field, saying, "It will be related to platforms and B2B (business-to-business), which we consider new growth engines."

At the meeting, Jo CEO personally explained the mid-to-long-term business strategy centered on transforming into a 'smart life solution company.' He particularly pointed out electric vehicle charging and the metaverse as new business areas.

He said, "We have started businesses in electric vehicle chargers and extended reality (XR) devices, which are expected to grow significantly, and we are exploring business opportunities in various fields through collaboration."

Specifically, he introduced the cooperation with Meta over the past two years in the metaverse area, saying, "Last month, CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited to discuss strengthening partnerships for future-oriented businesses," and added, "We believe that combining our product technology and content areas with Meta's platform will create synergy, and we are preparing for it."

He also said, "Recently, global IT companies comparable to Meta have been approaching us first," and expressed expectations that "by collaborating with global leading companies to expand on-device artificial intelligence (AI) services, it will help innovate customer experiences and create business models using generative AI."

Regarding the recent gathering of LG Electronics and other LG Group leaders in Germany to seek ways to strengthen cooperation in the automotive electronics business with the automaker Mercedes-Benz, he explained, "Mercedes-Benz invited us, and we held a tech show to discuss future car concepts and engaged in many activities," adding, "It was an opportunity to demonstrate our status in the infotainment field."

About the cooperation with Mercedes-Benz, Jo CEO said, "From Mercedes-Benz's perspective, they see the need for LG Electronics' communication technology, display technology, and camera technology," and added, "Details on what specific customer experiences will be provided inside the vehicle will likely follow in subsequent cooperation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.