Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Toshiba Corp. said Thursday they have agreed to consolidate their cathode ray tube business into a single joint venture.

Under the agreement, Matsushita and Toshiba will set up a company in January 2003 to work on incorporating the new joint venture by the end of March, they said.

The venture will be headquartered in Osaka and owned 60 percent by Matsushita and 40 percent by Toshiba, they said.

The capital of the joint venture has yet to be decided, they said.

The business integration will involve product development, manufacturing and sales operations, making the new company the world's third-largest CRT firm, they said.