Samsung's Harman to acquire ZF Capri in EU merger review

The European Commission has received a prior notification of a proposed concentration in which Harman International Industries, Incorporated, ultimately controlled by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., will acquire control of the whole of ZF Capri HoldCo GmbH. The notification, published in the Official Journal of the European Union (C series) on 14 September 2026 under reference C/2026/4837, was submitted to the Commission on 4 September 2026 pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004, the EU Merger Regulation.

The transaction is a major consolidation in the automotive electronics supply chain, bringing together a leading maker of audio and automotive electronics with the advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) business of ZF Friedrichshafen AG. The text is marked as having EEA relevance.

The transaction

Harman will acquire, within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation, control of the whole of ZF Capri, and the concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares. On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation, although the final decision on that point is reserved.

The undertakings concerned are described as follows:

• Harman is a designer and manufacturer of consumer and professional audio products, automotive electronics and audio systems.
• ZF Capri will, at the time of closing, own the advanced driver assistance systems for passenger vehicles of ZF Friedrichshafen AG, comprising automotive compute solutions, Smart Cameras, radio, radio detection and ranging, automotive connectivity solutions and ADAS software functions.
• For an interim period, ZF Capri will also hold parts of ZF’s business relating to other electronics components.

Invitation to comment

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed concentration. Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of publication, and must always specify the reference M.12324 – HARMAN / ZF CAPRI.

Observations may be sent by email or by post:

• Email: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu
• Postal address: European Commission, Directorate-General for Competition, Merger Registry, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË

Why it matters

The deal concentrates control over key ADAS and automotive connectivity technologies under a single owner backed by Samsung, one of the world’s largest electronics groups. Because these systems are increasingly central to modern passenger vehicles, the outcome of the EU merger review will shape competition in the automotive electronics market across the European Economic Area, affecting suppliers, carmakers and ultimately consumers.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, C series, C/2026/4837, 14 September 2026, notices section (official reference: C/2026/4837, Case M.12324 – HARMAN / ZF CAPRI).