Sony, NEC to form ‘Sony NEC Optiarc’ optical disc drive business

Sony Corporation (“Sony”) and NEC Corporation (“NEC”) announced today that they have signed a definitive agreement to establish a joint venture company, Sony NEC Optiarc Inc., in carrying out optical disc drive business.

Shinichi Yamamura, currently Deputy President of Video Business Group of Sony, will serve as the president of the new company.

Sony and NEC will separate their respective optical disc drive businesses on April 1, 2006 in preparation for creating this joint venture.

The planned date of establishment of Sony NEC Optiarc Inc, is April 3, 2006 and it will take over the two separated businesses in creating one company.

Sony

The venture will control some 20 percent of the global market, second only to Hitachi-LG Data Storage (HLDS), a venture between Japan’s Hitachi Ltd. (6501.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. (066570.KS: Quote, Profile, Research), an NEC spokesman had said

Reuters - Sony, NEC to set up optical disk venture in April

While JVs between competitors are not unheard-of, what makes this one particularly unusual is that Sony is, of course, one of the leaders of the Blu-ray group, while NEC sits squarely in the HD DVD camp. The two companies have made no announcements as to what kind of optical drives the new company will make, but here’s one clue: Sony will have a 55% stake in the $1.9 billion company, and it will be managed by one of Sony’s execs. Looks to us like Optiarc is going to be a very Blu company, leaving the HD DVD group with one less key supplier of hardware.

Engadget - Sony, NEC to combine optical businesses: victory for Blu-ray?