Shares of Corning Inc.
GLW,
+1.10%
are up 2.1% in premarket trading Monday after the company announced an extension of its investment relationship with Samsung Display Co. Ltd., which has been a Corning investor since 2014. Samsung Display received preferred shares of Corning in 2014 that were to be convertible after seven years and equal to a roughly 7.5% ownership stake in the company, following a deal that gave Corning full ownership of Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co. Ltd. Now, seven years after the original agreement, Samsung Display plans to convert all of its preferred shares to common shares, “which represents approximately 13% of Corning’s common shares on an as-converted basis,” Corning said in a release. Corning plans to repurchase 35 million of the 115 million common shares that Samsung Display will have upon conversion, and that will mean that Corning’s ownership stake will be about 9%. That initial repurchase of common shares is anticipated to take place this month. Samsung Display plans to maintain its ownership stake in Corning until at least 2028. Corning shares have gained 26% over the past three months as the S&P 500
SPX,
+1.18%
has risen 7.8%.
