Pioneer and Sharp have sealed the deal on an optical disc joint venture to develop Blu-ray and other optical disc products.
The new joint venture company - Pioneer Digital Design and Manufacturing Corporation - begins operations on October 1st. It will be headquartered in the compound of Pioneer's plant in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, with an initial workforce of 450. Pioneer will own a 66 percent share of the company and Toshihiko Kurihara, general manager of the components business division at Pioneer, will assume the post of president.
The move follows Pioneer's announcement in February - after posting a net loss for five quarters in a row - that it plans to cease manufacturing television sets by March 2010.
