Samsung’s Heir Makes Mark With $8 Billion of Deals

Lee Jae Yong is putting his stamp on Samsung Group after his father’s hospitalization with $8 billion in proposed deals, including a stock buyback. Shares of its electronics company surged.

Samsung yesterday unwound holdings involving at least eight businesses, with crown jewel Samsung Electronics Co. saying it would purchase about $2 billion of its own stock. The group disposed of stakes in chemicals and defense businesses, adding to mergers and initial public offerings announced since the 46-year-old Vice Chairman Lee took a greater role after patriarch Lee Kun Hee’s heart attack in May.