LG-Nortel, Accton Sign Agreement to Establish Joint Venture for North America
SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-Asia/ — LG-Nortel, a Korean global telecommunications solution provider and Accton Technology Corporation, a Taiwanese global telecommunications equipment company, today announced that they signed an agreement to form a joint venture that will offer voice and data solutions for North American small and medium businesses (SMBs) and large enterprises.
The agreement was signed in Hsinchu, Taiwan by Jae Ryung Lee, chief executive officer of LG-Nortel and A.J. Huang, the chairman of Accton Group. LG-Nortel will own a 60% share in the joint venture and Accton Group will own 40%. The new company will be tentatively named Edgecore Networks Inc., which was a subsidiary of Accton and a specialized North American sales company for network solutions. And the joint venture will be established by mid February from headquarters in Irvine, California, USA.
The joint venture will combine the SMB voice and data product expertise of LG-Nortel with Edgecore Networks’ marketing and sales capability, SMB channels, and logistics skills. Combining these capabilities will position the joint venture to take full charge of the SMB and enterprise equipment business of LG-Nortel and Accton across the USA and Canada. Both companies will cooperate in every aspect of their businesses including R&D, manufacturing, marketing, new business development, and brand use.
“LG-Nortel is taking another bold step in North America,” said Lee. “Like LG-Nortel, Accton is an innovative leader in its market. This partnership will provide significant new opportunities to reinforce our brand, increasing our global competitiveness and helping our customers embrace the future opportunities and challenges of the converged communications market.”
“The establishment of this joint venture will significantly enhance LG-Nortel’s presence in North America,” said Leith Tessy, chief operating officer of LG-Nortel. “Businesses have more complex communications challenges than ever, and the combination of our companies’ respective strengths will provide an unparalleled opportunity to help them meet those challenges.”
“The demands of North American customers are directly connected to the overall trend towards global communication,” said Huang. “The brand value and voice platform technology that LG-Nortel provides, paired with Accton’s distribution and manufacturing capacity, and our local network reach, will make this joint venture a powerful combination that will deliver significant benefits for companies across North America.”
North America’s highly-competitive SMB telecommunications solution is expected to comprise 27% (US$5.7B) of the global market in 2010. Through the joint venture, LG-Nortel will bring its telecommunications solutions directly to the North American SMB and enterprise market. With a broad portfolio including LG-Nortel’s voice products and Accton’s data products, the joint venture will help both companies strengthen their position in the highly competitive convergence market.
About LG-Nortel
LG-Nortel is a joint venture of LG Electronics and Nortel. Established in 2005, LG-Nortel provides leading edge telecommunications equipment and network solutions, spanning wired and wireless technologies, to service provider and enterprise customers in Korea and around the world. LG-Nortel is also actively developing next generation solutions for global markets, with over 750 skilled R&D engineers currently focused on wireless broadband technology evolution and the development of powerful new product lines. For more information on LG-Nortel, visit http://www.lg-nortel.com .
About Accton Technology Corporation
Accton Technology Corporation (TAIEX: 2345) is a global premier provider of networking and communications solutions for top tier networking, computer, and telecommunications vendors. Leveraging its advanced software applications and state-of-the-art ASIC, Accton collaborates with its strategic partners to design, develop and manufacture innovative, leading-edge technologies in Zero Time. The company’s constantly-evolving core technology and its highly-qualified global workforce make it possible for Accton to deliver superior products that are affordable and robust. For more information about Accton and its subsidiaries, please visit http://www.accton.com .
About Edgecore Networks, Inc.
Edgecore Networks, Inc., formerly a subsidiary of Accton Technology, was a global provider of application-driven performance networking solutions designed to meet and exceed customer requirements and maximize return on investment. As a joint venture between LG-Nortel and Accton, it will focus on SMB &Enterprise business across the USA and Canada with a broad portfolio including voice and data products. For more information, visit Edgecore Networks at: http://www.edgecorenetworks.com .