More details are emerging on the partnership between Asustek and Gigabyte. Today, an official announcement was made regarding the deal, which will amount to $244 Million in capital for a new joint company. This will create a new venture that is controlled 51% by Gigabyte, and is set to begin business on January 1st of next year. While unwilling to provide details about how they will incorporate Gigabyte into their plan, Asustek did reveal they expect a lot of growth:
When asked as to how the joint venture will affect Asustek's timeframe for spinning off its branded and manufacturing divisions by 2008, the leading motherboard maker declined to comment. Asustek estimates it will ship 60 million motherboards in 2006, up from 52 million units last year.
Gigabyte alone composes 11% of the motherboard market in terms of shipments, which would be no small bonus to Asustek's majority. With their numerous other ventures, they don't appear to be slowing down any.