Following the announcement of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NXP Semiconductors and Thomson on 14 February this year, the two companies announced on 27 June that they have signed a definitive agreement on the transaction to combine their can tuner module operations in a joint venture.

NXP will have a 55 percent holding in the new venture and Thomson the remaining 45 percent. In 2007, these operations posted combined sales of over approximately $250 M (approximately €160 M). The two companies expect that the transaction will close in the third quarter of 2008, subject to closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

The new organization will comprise approximately 4,000 employees, the majority of these being staff from NXP and Thomson manufacturing operations in Indonesia. The CEO of the joint venture will be an NXP designate, Pieter Paumen, and Thomson will assign the CFO – Philippe Nau.