Under the deal, the firms will share their knowledge and resources to help make products for the global market faster and more competitively.

"Global competition in the consumer air-conditioning market is fierce," the companies warned in a statement.

But "the integration of both company's know how in cost effective product development will enable Samsung and Sanyo to jointly-develop the most cost effective models allowing them to become leaders in the house hold air conditioning industry," they said.

Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. and Samsung Electronic Co. Ltd. -- the world's largest memory chipmaker -- pledged to form a project team to facilitate the venture "at the soonest possible date."

SPACE.WIRE