Mitsubishi Electric Corp and Mitsubishi Corp – both of which were born from the original Mitsubishi, but which are now unaffiliated – are to form a joint venture company in the US to develop, market, and distribute wireless communications products in North America. Mitsubishi Electric is to hold 60% of the yet-to-be-named venture, with Mitsubishi taking the rest; financial details were not released. The new company will be headquartered in Braselton, Illinois, where the Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics America Inc subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric has a cellular phone manufacturing facility: Mitsubishi Electric’s Mitsubishi Electronics America marketing arm, and Mitsubishi’s corresponding Mitsubishi International Corp unit will relocate from the Chicago area to the new base. Initially the new venture will concentrate on marketing cellular phones but it hopes to expand its activities to include all areas of wireless communications, although it would not give any specifics. The new company hopes to open for business on May 1, and to be fully operational by October this year.
