Samsung sells stake in UK chipmaker CSR

South Korea’s Samsung has sold its entire stake in British chip maker CSR shortly after the company said it was retreating from the digital camera market

The 9,925,000 shares are understood to have been sold at 660p via a share placing, or £65.5m. Samsung has netted a £42.5m profit on the stake investment.

The Korean company acquired a 4.9pc stake in CSR at 223p a share in July 2012, as part of a deal to buy the company’s mobile phone handset divisionfor £198m.

Samsung hired investment bank Citi to run the stake sale and it is understood the shares were sold to a number of investment funds, rather than one strategic investor. As a result, the new owners of the shares are unlikely to be disclosed on CSR's share register imminently.

The company announced in December that it was exiting its digital camera division which has suffered declining sales as amateur photographers increasingly rely on their smartphones for snaps on the go. The move was welcomed by the City.

The division accounted for 5pc of sales and CSR is now looking at refocusing the business on its high-growth units such as bluetooth and audio microchips, as found in luxury headphone maker Beats, by rapper and hip-hop producer Dr Dre

CSR's bluetooth technology is also used in Nike’s Fuel Band, which has been developed to track wearers’ activity levels and has even been spotted on UK Chancellor George Osborne.

M&A activity in the chipmaking sector slowed last year, however bankers predict the space could see a revival.

CSR's transition period could spell an opportunity for a large US chipmaker to swoop on the UK group, bankers said. Although an acquiror might want to wait for the dust to settle, they added.

CSR is said to be focused on bolt-on acquisitions this year to expand its profile in its so-called sweet spots. The company bought US imaging group Zoran in a £418m deal in 2011 and spent a total £13m on deals in 2012 but refrained from dealmaking last year.