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Panasonic, Fujitsu to form chip design, development company

People are reflected in a sign at Panasonic Center Tokyo in Tokyo March 12, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

TOKYO (Reuters) - Panasonic Corp and Fujitsu Ltd said on Wednesday that they would integrate part of their operations to form an independent company to design and develop system LSI chips, in which both companies will own a share.

Fujitsu will own 40 percent of voting rights in the new firm, the same proportion as the state-owned Development Bank of Japan Inc (DBJ), which will provide a maximum investment of 20 billion yen (115.7 million pounds) in equity capital and a maximum credit line of 10 billion yen for the new company. Panasonic will own the remaining 20 percent.

The new company will be a fabless semiconductor manufacturer and will focus on product planning, marketing and development, with a view to launching an initial public offering within several years, the companies said in a statement.

A final agreement on the details of the deal is expected to be completed by the end of the current quarter, which finishes in June. Panasonic and Fujitsu said they had agreed to name Yasuo Nishiguchi, the former president of Kyocera, as CEO of the new company.

(Reporting by Sophie Knight; Editing by Dominic Lau)