Re Alliance
July 29 2004 - 10:38AM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:3588B
TDK Corporation
29 July 2004
Fujitsu Limited
TDK Corporation
Fujitsu and TDK Plan Strategic Alliance in
Hard Disk Drive Head Business
Tokyo, July 29, 2004 Fujitsu Limited and TDK Corporation today announced that
they have agreed in principle to form a strategic alliance in the magnetic hard
disk drive head business. The agreement covers the following areas:
1. Collaboration in Head Technology
The companies will build a structure for technological collaboration in the
field of hard disk drive heads.
2. Joint Venture for Head Manufacture (Processing and Assembly)
Regarding drive-head manufacture (processing and assembly), the companies will
launch a new joint venture in the Philippines, where they both have
manufacturing operations. TDK is expected to take a 66% stake in the joint
venture, and Fujitsu the remaining 34%. Specifically, the drive-head operations
at Fujitsu's Philippine subsidiary, Fujitsu Computer Products Corporation of
the Philippines, will be combined with TDK's subsidiary, TDK Philippines
Corporation (TPC), and TPC will be converted into a joint venture.
Demand for hard disk drives is expanding in a variety of sectors, from servers
and storage systems to consumer electronics, and there are continual needs for
hard disk drives with ever-larger memory capacities and higher-performance
processing capabilities. Moreover, with the growing use of hard disk drives in
mission-critical applications, top-notch reliability is essential. The drive
head is the key differentiating component essential to meeting customers'
increasingly stringent requirements for quality, performance and capacity. The
alliance between Fujitsu and TDK is designed to bring together their respective
leading-edge technologies in this field to accelerate product development and
delivery, and thereby enhance both companies' businesses.
As a leading global hard disk drive manufacturer, Fujitsu is committed to
providing a stable supply of high-quality, high-reliability hard disk drives,
and it has comprehensive operations covering the development and production of
everything from the drive head to the media to the drive mechanism. The
addition of TDK's complementary strengths in drive head technology and know-how
through the new alliance will augment Fujitsu's vertically integrated hard disk
drive operations and allow greater economies of scale, enhancing its ability to
respond to customers' increasingly sophisticated and diverse requirements.
Along with ensuring the timely supply of drive heads, it will also make
Fujitsu's entire hard disk drive operations more efficient, helping the company
to offer hard disk drives with the performance, quality and cost-efficiency that
customers expect, and strengthen its overall competitive position in the market.
TDK is a world leader in drive-head technology, responding to continual demands
for dramatically higher storage densities by leveraging its particular strengths
in the core areas of materials technology to improve magnetic properties and
process technology for nano-order precision processing, as well as its
world-class mass-production and processing technologies and overall expertise in
the field. For TDK, the benefits of collaboration with comprehensive hard disk
drive manufacturer Fujitsu will include a stronger foundation for its drive-head
operations, and the ability to respond more quickly to customer needs.
Fujitsu and TDK are now discussing details of the agreement and expect to sign a
definitive agreement in October of this year.
About Fujitsu
Fujitsu is a leading provider of customer-focused IT and communications
solutions for the global marketplace. Pace-setting technologies, highly reliable
computing and communications platforms, and a worldwide corps of systems and
services experts uniquely position Fujitsu to deliver comprehensive solutions
that open up infinite possibilities for its customers' success. Headquartered in
Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.7 trillion
yen (US$45 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004. For more
information, please see: http://www.fujitsu.com/
About TDK
TDK Corporation (NYSE: TDK) is a leading global electronics company based in
Japan. It was established in 1935 to commercialize "ferrite," a key material in
electronics and magnetics. TDK's current product line includes ferrite
materials, electronic components and ICs, wireless computer networking products,
magnetic heads for HDD, and advanced digital recording media. For more
information about TDK, please visit www.tdk.co.jp.
Press Contacts
Fujitsu Limited
Public & Investor Relations
Global PR
Inquiries (http://www.fujitsu.com/news/contacts/index.html)
TDK Corporation
Nobuyuki Koike
Corporate Communications Department
Tel: +81-3-5201-7102
e-mail: nkoike@mb1.tdk.co.jp
Reference
Overview of Fujitsu Computer Products Corporation of the Philippines
1. Headquarters: Carmelray Industrial Park, Canlubang, Calamba, Laguna,
Philippines
2. Line of business: Manufacture of hard disk drives (for servers) and drive
heads
3. Shareholder: Fujitsu Limited (100%)
4. President: Hiroshi Nakamura
5. Capitalization: PHP3,833 million*
6. Employees: about 5,800*
Overview of TDK Philippines Corporation
1. Headquarters: 119 East Science Avenue, Special Export Processing Zone, Laguna
Technopark, Binan, Laguna, Philippines
2. Line of business: Manufacture of hard disk drive heads
3. Shareholder: TDK Corporation (100%)
4. President: Mike Fiester
5. Capitalization: PHP1,383 million*
6. Employees: about 2,000*
*As of end of June 2004
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