STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson and Toshiba Corp. have merged Ericsson Toshiba Telecommunications Systems K.K. with Nippon Ericsson K.K. in Japan.
Ericsson Toshiba Telecommunications was a joint venture between Ericsson and Toshiba. Ericsson owned 60 percent of the company. Nippon Ericsson was a wholly owned Ericsson subsidiary.
Ericsson said the merger was effective July 1. The new company, headquartered in Tokyo, will take on the Nippon Ericsson name, with Ericsson as the majority owner. Toshiba will retain a small minority share in the new company.
Ericsson and Toshiba established Ericsson Toshiba Telecommunications in 1992 to focus on the mobile phone infrastructure business, mainly for the network operators within the Japanese Digital Phone Group and the Digital Tu-Ka Group. Nippon Ericsson, formed in 1990, has been responsible for providing infrastructure to NTT DoCoMo.
Ericsson said the merger will allow for more efficient use of existing marketing and engineering resources, assuring further growth of the new company in the telecommunications market. Ericsson and Toshiba said they will continue to seek opportunities to develop new business together.
