Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong plans to buy 7,188,793 common shares from his mother, Hong Ra-hee, in an off-market transaction scheduled for October 12. Based on Samsung Electronics’ October 8 closing price of 269,500 won, the planned purchase is valued at 1.93737971 trillion won, or about $1.4 billion, although the final amount may range from 70% to 130% of the estimate. Lee’s holdings would rise from 97,551,953 to 104,740,746 shares, lifting his combined common- and preferred-share stake to 1.58% from 1.47% and his voting common-share stake to about 1.78% from 1.67% at the end of June. Hong’s common-share stake would fall to about 1.13% from 1.25%. The transfer is viewed as a way for Hong to raise funds to repay loans incurred during the Samsung family’s inheritance-tax payments following the death of former Chairman Lee Kun-hee. The family reported the inheritance in April 2021 after Lee Kun-hee’s death in October 2020 and completed six installment payments over five years, with total tax estimated at 12 trillion won. The direct transfer also avoids the potential market disruption of a large open-market sale, while leaving the family’s overall Samsung Electronics ownership unchanged. Separately, the Samsung owner family’s listed-affiliate holdings exceeded 100 trillion won for the first time, according to CEO Score.