Forwarded onto us a short while is that of an official announcement from GIGABYTE which details their move to have joined up with ASUSTek.

The capital of this joint venture will be NT$ 8,000,000,000 (eight billion NT dollars). GIGABYTE Technology intends to hold 51% of the shares and ASUSTek will hold 49%. This joint venture plans to commence operating in January 2007.

Grab the doc formatted announcement here. Oh, and ASUS have also confirmed the merger on their website too.

In accordance with the relevant regulations according to Company Law, Securities Law and Business Merger & Acquisition Law, a resolution of the board of directors was passed on the 8th of August, 2006 for GIGABYTE Technology Co., LTD (Stock Code: 2376) to transfer the relevant assets and businesses of its own branded motherboards and VGA cards to a newly established subsidiary. After all the necessary legal procedures and obligations have been fulfilled, ASUSTek Computer Inc. (Stock Code: 2357) plans to invest in this newly established GIGABYTE subsidiary to help manage the joint venture and develop a strategic alliance with GIGABYTE. Both parties will work together to increase operation efficiency, enhance product quality, provide better customer service and create a higher value for shareholders.