Mitsubishi denies Motorola tie-up

Talks, but no deal yet on a handset tie-up, says Mitsubishi Electric

By CNN's Kristie Lu Stout

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Mitsubishi Electric is denying a news report that it is in talks with Motorola to strike a next-generation mobile phone deal.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on Thursday that the two companies were in the final stages of forming a strategic alliance in 3G cellular phone handsets.

"It's a speculative article," a Mitsubishi Electric spokesperson told CNN. "We've had talks with Motorola over the past year but no talks right now on a tie-up in the mobile phone business."

Mitsubishi Electric did not go into detail on the nature of its past discussions with Motorola.

The contested news report stated that both Motorola and Mitsubishi Electric have plans to launch a North American joint venture to manufacture handsets compatible with the international third-generation standards.

Motorola has yet to respond to the denial of the deal.

The assumed Mitsubishi-Motorola pact is one of a series of alliances between Japanese and overseas handset makers announced in recent days.

On Thursday, Japanese digital appliance giant Sony said it was in talks on a tie-up with Sweden's Ericsson in the mobile phone sector.

Sony and Ericsson would invest several billion dollars and spin off their mobile phone businesses to form the joint venture.

Sony, Ericsson in mobile tie-up
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