Samsung chief fends off £2.5bn suit – and tablets work well, too

Samsung’s run of good news continued today as a billion-dollar lawsuit against the South Korean electronics giant was dismissed, and the company said it doubled its share of the tablet market at the end of last year.

A South Korean court ruled in favour of chairman Lee Kun-hee, dismissing a lawsuit brought  by estranged family members  that demanded he hand over  $4 billion (£2.5 billion) of shares  in Samsung companies.

The suit accused Lee, 71, of hiding billions of dollars in shareholdings from his siblings. Lee, who inherited the shares from his father, argued that he had free  rein to transfer the shares as the chosen successor.

A ruling against Lee, South Korea’s richest man worth an estimated $8.3 billion, could have forced a reshuffle of his intricate shareholdings across the Samsung group in order to retain control.

Samsung said it had doubled its share of the fast-growing tablet PC market in the final three months of 2012. Its sold 7.9 million Galaxy tablets, up from 2.2 million in the same period a year ago, taking its market share to 15.1%.