SEOUL • Samsung Electronics will acquire Joyent to expand in cloud computing as the world's largest smartphone maker looks beyond hardware for revenue growth.

The deal will help Samsung build its cloud infrastructure, the Galaxy maker said in a statement yesterday without disclosing a purchase price.

The acquisition gives the company its own platform to support mobile, cloud and Internet of Things services. Samsung has been "actively looking" to acquire software developers, including for artificial intelligence, as it tries to overcome flatlining sales for its devices, executive vice-president Rhee In Jong said in March.

Samsung had more than US$60 billion (S$81 billion) in cash and equivalents as of the end of the first quarter.

Samsung vice-chairman Lee Jae Yong is trying to reduce the company's focus on manufacturing, which had helped create the world's biggest maker of phones, TVs and memory chips.

Shipments of Samsung's Galaxy smartphones and other models fell for a second straight year in 2015 as Apple's iPhones gained traction in the high-end category while models from Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi Corp attracted budget buyers.

Revenue and net income have fallen for two straight years while the stock has posted three consecutive annual declines.

Asia's biggest technology company was involved in 12 deals totalling US$456 million last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

They included the purchase of LoopPay, a company that develops technology for mobile payments, last year as well as purchasing SmartThings, which makes mobile applications to control electronics in houses, in August 2014.

BLOOMBERG