November 2, 2005 Seoul, South Korea -- LG Electronics (LGE) and Nortel have closed a transaction announced in August that forms a joint venture between the two companies. The joint venture, named LG-Nortel Co. Ltd., will offer communications and networking platforms in the wireline, optical, wireless, and enterprise markets in South Korea, as well as globally.
The companies say they have already successfully collaborated to win significant contracts in South Korea since the announcement in January of a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the joint venture. According to a press release, within the last three months, the companies have been selected to deploy HSDPA/WCDMA networks for KTF and SKT, paving the way for the joint venture to potentially become a major 3G supplier in one of the world's most advanced telecommunications markets.
"Today marks the birth of a new breed of telecommunications company," comments S.S. Kim, CEO and vice-chairman of LG Electronics. "By combining the technological know-how and market understanding of two major players in the industry, we are confident we will be able to expedite the introduction of next-generation solutions for the benefit of service providers and end users."
"Korea is known for its market-leading adoption of cutting-edge technology," adds Bill Owens, vice-chairman and CEO of Nortel. "The early success of the LG-Nortel collaboration is a testament to the vision of bringing the two teams together to form a joint venture and playing to win in South Korea and other major markets."
According to the release, LG-Nortel's headquarters will be in South Korea, with sales and marketing located in Kangnam, Seoul; R&D facilities in Anyang in the province of Gyeonggi; and an employee population of approximately 1,400.
LG-Nortel also announced the appointment of J.R. Lee from LGE as CEO; Paul House from Nortel as COO; Peter Dans from Nortel as CFO; and C.H. Hwang from LGE as CTO.