LG Electronics and Nortel closed the transaction announced in August that forms a joint venture between the two companies. The joint venture, named LG-Nortel Co. Ltd., will offer leading-edge communications and networking solutions in the wireline, optical, wireless and enterprise markets in South Korea and the rest of the world.

Nortel and LGE have already successfully collaborated to win significant contracts in South Korea since the announcement in January of a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the joint venture. Within the last three months, LG and Nortel have been selected to deploy HSDPA/WCDMA networks for KTF and SKT, paving the way for the joint venture to become a major 3G supplier in one of the most advanced telecommunications markets in the world.

"Today marks the birth of a new breed of telecommunications company," said S.S. Kim, chief executive officer and vice-chairman, LG Electronics. "By combining the technological know-how and market understanding of two major players in the industry, we are confident we will be able to expedite the introduction of next generation solutions for the benefit of service providers and end users."

"Korea is known for its market-leading adoption of cutting-edge technology," said Bill Owens, vice-chairman and chief executive officer, Nortel. "The early success of the LG-Nortel collaboration is a testament to the vision of bringing the two teams together to form a joint venture and playing to win in South Korea and other major markets."

LG-Nortel's headquarters will be in South Korea, with sales and marketing located in Kangnam, Seoul; R&D facilities in Anyang in the province of Gyeonggi; and an employee population of approximately 1,400. LG-Nortel also announced the appointment of J.R. Lee from LGE as chief executive officer, Paul House from Nortel as chief operating officer, Peter Dans from Nortel as chief financial officer, and C.H. Hwang from LGE as chief technology officer.