They took our tongue-in cheek advice not to call the new group Saint Eric, but, as expected, the NXP name is to be phased out.

The announcement follows the clearance earlier this month of the merger between the companies, which was originally announced last August.

The group, with 8,000 employees, will be a powerful force in the wireless semiconductor industry — a key supplier to four of the top five handset manufacturers. Its list of customers includes Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG and Sharp, as well as contracts from and partnerships with many OEMs and ODMs.

The venture starts with combined revenues of about $3.6bn in 2008, and about $400 million in cash.

The fabless group will use processing, assembly and test and packaging capability from STMicroelectronics as well as other third-party foundries.

"Thanks to our cumulative experience, unique portfolio and long-standing relationships with the top handset manufacturers, ST-Ericsson has the four fundamental components necessary for success: a commitment to innovation, a complete portfolio of wireless solutions, a solid reputation as a reliable and trusted partner and an experienced management team focused on execution, said Alain Dutheil, President and CEO of ST-Ericsson, in a statement.

Dutheil stressed the merged group has the "scale to invest and bring to market the technologies that will give our customers the momentum to succeed."

About 85 percent of the workforce of the venture will be in R&D, and the combined group has, and will continue to develop, IP and devices for mobile multimedia, connectivity and platform solutions including reference designs for GSM, EDGE, WCDMA, HSPA, as well as TD-SCDMA and LTE.

Its line-up of multimedia and application processors support all major operating systems, and its connectivity and broadcast capabilities span Bluetooth, FM, GPS, WLAN, Near Field Communications and USB.

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the ST-Ericsson President and Chief Executive Officer Alain Dutheil is joined in the management team by, amongst others, Robert Puskaric, Deputy CEO, Executive Vice President; Tommi Uhari, Senior Vice President, Products; Abhijit Bhattacharya, Vice President, Operations and Quality; Marc Cetto, Vice President, 2G and Connectivity; Monica De Virgiliis, Vice President, Wireless Multimedia ; Jšrgen Lantto, Vice President, Mobile Platforms and CTO; and Pascal Langlois, Vice President, Sales.

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