Wow that was quick! Turns out only a short time after the initial rumour surfaced, ASUS and GIGABYTE are indeed confirmed to join forces!

The DailyTech have the full scoop folks.

So it's not as big of news as the recent AMD and ATI merger, but cross-town Taipei rivals Asustek and Gigabyte have just announced a major joint venture between the two companies. The new joint venture will effectively let Gigabyte use Asustek facilities for manufacturing of "Gigabyte" branded video cards and motherboards.

Gigabyte will own a 51% stake in the company, with Asustek picking up the other 49%. HKEPC (English) reports the deal is valued at approximately $244M USD, and that the new joint venture will become official January 1, 2007. Neither company would comment on the effect of the joint venture on existing manufacturing, claiming that only the legal proceedings to start the company have been publically announced at this time. The joint venture will also get a new name, but both companies are also tight lipped about that as well.