TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. and Nissan Motor Co. have signed a pact to merge their forklift businesses into a new company, the two companies said Tuesday. The government-backed Innovation Network Corp. of Japan will take a majority stake in the new entity, the two firms and the INCJ said.

Under the accord, all outstanding shares of the forklift businesses of Hitachi Construction and Nissan will be transferred to the new company, effective in the spring of 2012. The INCJ will inject Y30 billion to help to support the new company's growth strategy.

The move is aimed at obtaining a bigger share in the key emerging markets of Southeast Asia, where demand for low-emission forklifts is increasing. The merger would help the two companies make inroads in such markets by taking advantage of economies of scale.