NEC is buying out its Japanese technology partner Toshiba’s 40% stake in their satellite assembly joint venture NTSpace.
The companies expect to complete the transfer of shares at the end of March, when the venture will be renamed NEC Space…
NEC is buying out its Japanese technology partner Toshiba’s 40% stake in their satellite assembly joint venture NTSpace.
The companies expect to complete the transfer of shares at the end of March, when the venture will be renamed NEC Space Technologies.
Financial details were not disclosed and the companies did not respond to requests for comment.
Tokyo-headquartered NTSpace, also known as NEC Toshiba Space Systems, was established in 2001 and has Y7bn (US$48.3bn) in capital, according to its website.
It had 515 employees and generated around Y21.6bn (US$180m) in sales as of March 2014.
The venture focuses on the development, manufacture, system integration, and testing of satellite components.
Bringing the unit in-house is NEC’s latest move towards its goal of establishing a Y100bn (US$833m) space-related business by fiscal 2020.
The company has managed the integration of 69 satellites to date, starting with Japan’s first satellite Osumi that was launched in 1970.
However, the group is keen to branch out from its domestic market to ramp up its commercial space business – a goal it announced not long after exiting its money-losing smartphone business.
NEC has said it is actively targeting demand for satellites in countries new to space exploration in Asia and other parts of the world.
Last year, it secured an MoU with Mexico’s space agency to help the country develop spacecraft for Earth observation, communications and other applications.
That deal came as NEC opened another satellite facility on the outskirts of Tokyo, where it said it can assemble eight birds in parallel.
It has a compact satellite assembly plant in addition to this site, operating nearby in Sagamihara.
The group has said it is also planning to create an integrated in-house production system for its low cost remote sensing platform NEXTAR.
