Monday, December 30, 2002
Japan's Hitachi Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. here today officially signed a deal to merge their chip operations and announced plans to combine their respective sales operations.
The two companies originally announced the blockbuster merger of their respective semiconductor operations earlier this year. The new $7 billion semiconductor company, to be known as Renesas Technology Corp., calls for Hitachi to own 55% of the venture and Mitsubishi holding 45%.
If the merger can be brought off successfully, Renesas would become the world's third largest chip maker, behind Intel Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., according to iSuppli Corp. of El Segundo, Calif.
Today's announcement about Renesas is the culmination of discussions that began when a basic agreement was signed on October 3. Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric plan to seek approval for this reorganization of their system LSI operations at a shareholder meeting on Feb. 6, 2003.
Discussions are currently being held with labor unions and employees regarding the employees who will be transferred to the new company. The terms and conditions of existing employment contracts will be honored in accordance with the applicable legal requirements.
Still, the companies moved to combine their sales operations. Sales activities for Renesas Technology in Japan will be conducted by Renesas Technology Sales Co. Ltd., which will also start operations on April 1, 2003. Renesas Technology Sales will be formed from the merger of Hitachi Semiconductor and Devices Sales Co. Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Semiconductor Systems Corp.
The president and CEO of Renesas Technology Sales will be Katsumi Suizu, group vice president of semiconductor at Mitsubishi Electric.
Regarding overseas sales, plans call for the integration of Hitachi and Mitsubishi activities in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere in Asia in the first half of fiscal 2003.
This company will be renamed Renesas Device Sales Co. Ltd. on April 1, 2003. The integration of Japanese and overseas sales companies will facilitate end-to-end management of operations at Renesas Technology, from development, design and manufacture through sales, service and support.
By: DocMemory
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