GE (www.ge.com) and Fanuc (www.fanuc.com) have agreed to dissolve the GE Fanuc Automation Corporation joint venture, allowing each company to refocus its investments to grow its existing businesses and pursue its respective core industry expertise. GE and Fanuc expect the transaction to be completed by the end of 2009, subject to satisfactory customary closing conditions.
Established in 1986, GE Fanuc Automation delivers hardware and software solutions, services, automation and embedded computing systems, as well as CNC products.
Fanuc Honorary Chairman Dr. Seiuemon Inaba says: "Our joint venture has achieved great success toward its original mission, which was to cooperate on the global growth and technical development of the PLC and CNC business. Over this time period, markets and opportunities also have changed dramatically, and both companies further expanded into adjacent segments. Today's market conditions are such that it's imperative we pursue these expanded opportunities, and while we have achieved great things together, it's in both our best interests that we focus our efforts on industry opportunities unique to our respective companies and that will deliver greater benefits to both our companies."
GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms CEO Maryrose Sylvester says: "GE could not have asked for better partners than Dr. Inaba and Fanuc. GE is proud of what our companies have achieved together, both the industry expertise and success across our product portfolios. For GE, this change will mean a continued, intense focus on serving our customers around the world while continuing to invest in significant growth platforms like process control systems, enterprise and automation software and embedded computing as we continue to build further expertise around the GE vertical infrastructure segments."
Under the terms of the agreement, GE will retain the software, services, embedded systems and control systems businesses globally. The company will be known as GE Intelligent Platforms and will be led by Sylvester. Fanuc will retain the global CNC business.
