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HP announced the deal in September 2016, hoping to disrupt the
$55 billion copier market by focusing on multifunction printers
and more deeply embedding mobile and cloud printing technologies
to its product solutions.
It hoped at the time to close the transaction within 12 months,
pending regulatory review.
In a statement issued late on Thursday, the Ministry of Commerce
said sale of A4 format laser printers by HP in China should be
done on "fair and reasonable" terms and the firm must report
every six months on their prices and related data to the
ministry.
HP must not buy any stakes in other A4 printer manufacturers in
China even if they are a minority equity investment, it said.
It must not adapt its printers to restrict compatibility with
third-parties or claim in advertising that its printers are not
compatible with other suppliers, the ministry said.
HP expects to close the acquisition in the fourth quarter which
ends on Dec. 31, a spokeswoman said in an email. She declined to
comment on the regulatory process.
Samsung was not immediately available for comment.
Under the deal, HP would add an intellectual property portfolio
of more than 6,500 printing patents and nearly 1,300 researchers
and engineers with expertise in laser printer technology,
imaging electronics and printer supplies.
(Reporting by Josephine Mason and Stella Qiu; Editing by
Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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