Samil PwC: "In the Age of AI, Strategic M&A Is a Core Corporate Strategy"

"AI Supply Chain and 2026 M&A Market Outlook"
Seminar Held

As the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) technology accelerates changes in industrial structures, analysis shows that investments in the M&A market are also expanding, especially in core sectors.

Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers announced on the 19th that it held a seminar titled "AI Supply Chain and 2026 M&A Market Outlook" on the 18th at Amore Hall, its headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, where these topics were discussed.

The seminar consisted of three main sessions: economic and industrial trends for this year, changes in M&A trends, and industries expected to grow in the era of AI and humanoids. In the first session, Choi Jaeyoung, Head of the Management Research Institute at Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, emphasized, "With four structural trends—reorganization of the global order, technological inflection points, changes in macroeconomic systems, and instability in national policies—converging at the same time, the key task for M&A strategy is to read long-term trend lines rather than short-term economic fluctuations."

Next, Jung Kyungsoo, Head of the M&A Center at Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, presented four strategies: proactive response to volatility and liquidity management; establishing appropriate capital allocation principles within limited capital; actively utilizing M&A for portfolio rebalancing; and conducting detailed due diligence on acquisition targets’ AI strategies and capabilities.

Min Junseon, Head of Deal Advisory at Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, is delivering the opening address on the 18th at Amore Hall, Yongsan Headquarters, Seoul. Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers

In the second session, Lee Jeong, Team Leader at KDB Industrial Bank, introduced the fund formation and management plans of the National Growth Fund and explained key points that companies and investors can refer to in practice. The third session covered M&A trends across the AI ecosystem, from energy and power infrastructure to physical AI, focusing on key industries.

Han Jeongtak, Leader (Partner) of the Energy Transition Platform at Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, stressed that power infrastructure is critical in the AI era. Cho Hanjun, Leader (Partner) of the Secondary Battery Sector, commented on the global secondary battery industry: "Major players, including the three domestic battery companies, are moving away from a single EV-focused strategy and are simultaneously diversifying into markets such as energy storage systems (ESS) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP), as well as restructuring existing joint ventures (JVs) to adjust their portfolios. As the current period of adjustment represents an inflection point where technology, supply chains, and capital are being reorganized simultaneously, only companies that prepare strategically will secure a competitive edge in the next phase of growth."

Seo Yongtae, Leader (Partner) of the Infrastructure and Energy Sector, introduced domestic and international transaction cases for each value chain in the data center sector and suggested that vertical integration and platform-building strategies are necessary to secure competitiveness. Hong Seunghwan, Leader (Partner) of the Physical AI Sector, advised, "Since M&A activity in the physical AI field is expected to increase rapidly over the next three to four years, a phased approach will be key—mitigating risk through minority stake investments in a high-valuation environment and pursuing follow-up M&As after technological validation."

Minjun Seon, Head of Deal Advisory at Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, said in his opening address, "Now in its third year, this seminar focused on discussing changes and investment directions in major industries surrounding the AI supply chain, along with trends in the domestic and global M&A markets. We hope this will help market participants gain a more multidimensional understanding of the evolving M&A environment and consider their future strategies."

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