New York – Toshiba Corp. and Samsung Electronics today signed a memorandum of agreement to integrate their optical drive businesses.
The deal has the two firms establishing a separate joint venture to develop and sell various types of CD and DVD drives. The joint venture will be headquartered in Japan, but Seoul, South Korea-based Samsung will own 51 percent of the new company with Toshiba picking up the remaining 49 percent. However, the wholly owned subsidiary will establish its base of operations in Korea.
The company is expected to generate about $1.8 billion in annual sales.
The two companies will finalize details of the agreement, they said in a written statement. A time frame for completion of the deal was not given.
