Hitachi and NEC to Establish Company for Backbone Routers/Switches

Hitachi and NEC Corporation are joining forces to establish a new company specializing in core backbone routers and switches for telecommunications carriers, government and public sectors and large corporations. The new company will be located in Tokyo and have about 350 employees drawn from both Hitachi and NEC. It will have about 5.5 billion yen in capital when it commences in October 2004. Hitachi will own 60% of the new company while NEC will own 40%.



The joint venture, which aims to become a leading vendor of high-end backbone routers/switches, will supply products to Hitachi and NEC respectively, and the two companies will market them to their individual clients. Hitachi and NEC said they will strongly promote system integration offerings using the new company's products. The new company will also market its products through its business partners under the new company's own brand name. A name for the new venture has not yet been chosen. http://www.hitachi.comhttp://www.nec.com