Biz Brief: Fujitsu and Toshiba to Merge Mobile Businesses

It's official: Fujitsu (FJTSY) and Toshiba (TOSBF) are merging their cell-phone operations. The companies announced the tie-up early Thursday after reports of negotiations last week.

Fujitsu will take a majority stake in the joint venture, which will officially launch in October. The merger will make the venture the second-largest mobile-phone maker in Japan after Sharp – but still a small player globally with less than 1% market share, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The deal is the latest in a series of Japanese cell-phone-maker mergers in the last few years as sales in the country have fallen.