(Telecompaper) Samsung Electronics has agreed to buy a 10 percent stake in South Korean handset maker Pantech, writes the Yonhap News Agency. The deal, valued at around KRW 53 billion, will help further cooperation in smartphone and other business areas, it said. With the stake purchase, Samsung becomes Pantech's third-largest shareholder after the chip manufacturer Qualcomm and state-run Korea Development Bank, which own 11.96 percent and 11.81 percent respectively in the company.