Big shake-up in the PC industry: Yesterday, Japan’s biggest PC maker NEC and Lenovo announced a plan to form a joint venture to create Japan’s largest “PC group”. Lenovo will hold a 51% stake in the joint venture (to be incorporated in the Netherlands), while NEC will own the rest.

As part of the deal, NEC will receive $175 million from Lenovo through an issue of Lenovo shares. It’s basically the price big L has to pay for access to the Japanese market.

It’s a move that makes sense, as NEC is practically not present in PC markets outside Japan, while Lenovo never gained a foothold within this country (the No. 3 market for PCs in the world). NEC controls 18% of the Japanese PC market (just 0.9% globally), while Lenovo is the fourth biggest computer maker worldwide, trailing HP, Dell and Acer (according to IDC).

The two companies will keep their separate brand names in Japan. Both companies are also hinting at future tie-ups, for example in the development of smartphones and tablets.