Thursday, April 30, 2009

IDT Divests Network Search Engine Assets

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IDT® (Integrated Device Technology, Inc.) (NASDAQ:IDTI), a leading provider of essential mixed signal semiconductor solutions that enrich the digital media experience, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to divest its network search engine business to NetLogic Microsystems, Inc (NASDAQ: NETL). The purchase consideration consists of approximately US$100 million less the cost of inventory, estimated at $10 million on hand, on the closing date. At closing, NetLogic Microsystems, at its option, may pay the entire purchase price in cash or pay approximately $70 million less the cost of inventory in cash and issue to IDT a $30 million secured promissory note payable in two equal installments on the first and second anniversaries of the closing date. The IDT Board of Directors has unanimously approved of the divestiture and signing of a definitive agreement. IDT expects this transaction to close prior to the end of the calendar third quarter of 2009.

Integrated Device Technology, Inc. and Tundra Semiconductor Corporation Sign Definitive Acquisition Agreement

IDT® (Integrated Device Technology, Inc.; NASDAQ: IDTI ), a leading provider of essential mixed signal semiconductor solutions that enrich the digital media experience, and Tundra (Tundra Semiconductor Corporation; TSX: TUN ), a leader in system interconnect, today announced the two companies have entered into a definitive acquisition agreement (the "IDT/Tundra Acquisition Agreement") pursuant to which IDT will acquire Tundra for CDN$6.25 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately CDN$120.8 million.

About the Transaction: Under the terms of the IDT/Tundra Acquisition Agreement, which is to be completed as a statutory plan of arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act, Tundra shareholders will receive cash in the amount of CDN$6.25 per Tundra share. IDT will finance the transaction with cash on hand. All outstanding "out of the money" options of Tundra will be assumed by IDT in the transaction; all "in the money" options and RSUs of Tundra will be cash settled on the transaction closing date. The transaction must be approved by two-thirds of the votes cast by Tundra shareholders at a special meeting expected to be held in June, 2009, and is subject to, Canadian court approval as well as customary closing conditions. In the event that the transaction does not close, in certain circumstances Tundra has agreed to pay IDT a termination fee of CDN$5.4 million in accordance with the IDT/Tundra Acquisition Agreement. Tundra has received an opinion from its financial advisors that the transaction is fair from a financial perspective to its shareholders. The transaction was unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company (subject to the abstention of Mr. Shlapak who is a member of the board of directors of both Tundra and Gennum Corporation). Subject to certain exceptions, executive officers and directors of Tundra have agreed to vote their outstanding Tundra shares in favor of the transaction. The transaction is expected to be completed late in the second quarter or early in the third quarter of 2009. Upon completion of the transaction, the Tundra shares will be de-listed from the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Tundra announced earlier today that Gennum (Gennum Corporation; TSX: GDN) notified Tundra that it would not exercise its right under the amended arrangement agreement between Tundra and Gennum (the "Gennum Agreement") to match the IDT offer. As a result, Tundra has paid the CDN$5.0 million termination fee to Gennum and has terminated the Gennum Agreement in accordance with its terms. The special meeting of Tundra shareholders to consider the Gennum transaction that was scheduled for May 8, 2009 has been cancelled.

Barclays Capital, Inc. acted as financial advisors and Latham & Watkins LLP and McCarthy Tétrault LLP acted as legal counsel to IDT. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. acted as financial advisor and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP acted as legal counsel to Tundra.

Rambus 10Q - Updates

Hynix litigation update: On March 10, 2009, the court entered final judgment against Hynix in the amount of approximately $397 million as follows: approximately $134 million for infringement through December 31, 2005; approximately $215 million for infringement from January 1, 2006 through January 31, 2009; and approximately $48 million in pre-judgment interest. Post-judgment interest will accrue at the statutory rate. In addition, the judgment orders Hynix to pay Rambus royalties on net sales for U.S. infringement after January 31, 2009 and before April 18, 2010 of 1% for SDR SDRAM and 4.25% by DDR DDR2, DDR3, GDDR, GDDR2 and GDDR3 SDRAM memory devices. On April 9, 2009, Rambus submitted its cost bill in the amount of approximately $0.9 million. On March 24, 2009, Hynix filed a motion under Rule 62 seeking relief from the requirement that it post a supersedeas bond in the full amount of the final judgment in order to stay its execution pending an appeal. Rambus filed a brief opposing Hynix’s motion on April 10, 2009. A hearing on Hynix’s motion is scheduled for May 8, 2009. Execution of the judgment is stayed until two weeks after the hearing date or until such time as may otherwise be ordered by the court.

On April 6, 2009, Hynix filed its notice of appeal. On April 17, 2009, Rambus filed its notice of cross appeal. The parties’ opening briefs are not yet due.

Micron litigation update: On January 9, 2009, the court issued an opinion in which it determined that Rambus had engaged in spoliation of evidence by failing to suspend general implementation of a document retention policy after the court determined that litigation was reasonably foreseeable. The court issued an accompanying order declaring the twelve patents in suit unenforceable against Micron (the “Delaware Order”). On February 9, 2009, the court stayed all other proceedings pending appeal of the Delaware Order. On February 10, 2009, judgment was entered against Rambus and in favor of Micron on Rambus’ patent infringement claims and Micron’s corresponding claims for declaratory relief. On March 11, 2009, Rambus filed its notice of appeal. Rambus’ opening brief is not yet due.


Patent foundation: As of March 31, 2009, our chip interface technologies are covered by more than 790 U.S. and foreign patents. Additionally, we have approximately 550 patent applications pending.

Customer concentration: ......our top five licensees representing approximately 79% and 67% of our revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 2009, revenue from Fujitsu, NEC, AMD and Panasonic each accounted for 10% or more of our total revenue.

Microsemi Acquires Defense & Security Business from Endwave Corporation

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq:MSCC), a leading manufacturer of high performance analog mixed signal integrated circuits and high reliability semiconductors, and Endwave Corporation (Nasdaq:ENWV), a leading provider of high-frequency RF solutions for mobile communications markets, today announced that Microsemi has acquired Endwave’s defense electronics and security (D&S) business.

Microsemi intends to combine Endwave’s high-frequency product portfolio with its own, creating one of the leading high-reliability RF product offerings in the market today and covering the technology spectrum up to 100 GHz. In recent years, Endwave’s D&S group has developed many innovative, state of the art products and has won several contracts to supply these products on major systems projects with many current Microsemi customers such as Boeing, Cobham, L3, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon. This acquisition will expand opportunities for Microsemi in next-generation, high-growth defense electronics applications such as theater-wide video and voice communications, advanced radar systems, remote sensing and broadband transmission systems. In Homeland Security applications, the D&S group provides technologies for radar fencing, stand-off threat detection systems and advanced personnel screening portals. Microsemi intends to expand the D&S business into new, related markets such as satellite and space, in which the D&S technology is a natural extension of Microsemi’s ongoing thrust into the marketplace.

Under the terms of the agreement, Microsemi is acquiring the D&S assets for a total equity value of $28 million in cash plus the assumption of specified liabilities. Microsemi expects the acquisition to be accretive immediately.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Sirius XM Radio Inc. files complaint against Technology Properties Ltd., Patriot Scientific Corp. and Alliacense Ltd.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. has filed suit in the United States Southern District Court of New York against Technology Properties Ltd., Patriot Scientific Corp. and Alliacense Ltd. seeking a declaratory judgment that Sirius XM Radio Inc. does not infringe any valid and/or enforceable claim of United States Patent Nos. 5,030,853; 5,440,749; 5,784,584; 5,530,890; 5,809,336; 6,598,148 and 5,247,212.

Filing Excerpts: Starting in 2008 and continuing into April 2009, Defendants, through defendant Alliacense, have demanded that Sirius XM enter into a royalty-bearing license for the Asserted Patents. The ‘749 patent, ‘584 patent, ‘336 patent, ‘890 patent and ‘148 patent comprise part of Defendants’ MMP Patent Portfolio and the ‘853 patent and ‘212 patent comprise part of Defendants’ Fast Logic Patent Portfolio. Alliacense has claimed that products used in connection with the Sirius XM Services infringe one or more claims of the MMP Patent Portfolio and the Fast Logic Patent Portfolio. Alliacense has further informed Sirius XM that if it does not take a license, it may be subject to substantial liabilities........Under all of these circumstances, there is an actual, justiciable and substantial controversy between Sirius XM and the defendants having adverse legal interests of sufficient immediacy and reality to warrant the issuance of declaratory judgments with respect to the (patents).

OPTi 8K - OPTi Receives $19.0 Million Verdict in Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Apple Inc.

OPTi Inc (OTCBB:OPTI) today announced that a jury from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ruled in OPTi’s favor in the patent infringement trial between OPTi Inc (“OPTi”) and Apple Inc. (“Apple”), relating to OPTi’s U.S. patent No. 6,405,291, entitled “Predictive Snooping of Cache Memory for Master-Initiated Accesses.” The jury ruled on the following four issues:
  • In the matter of wilfull infringement, the jury ruled that Apple wilfully infringed OPTi’s patent;
  • In the matter of Apple’s defense that OPTi’s patent was invalid due to obviousness, the jury ruled that OPTi’s patent was valid;
  • In the matter of Apple’s defense that the patent was invalid due to anticipation, the jury ruled that the OPTi’s patent was valid;
  • In the matter of damages, the jury awarded OPTi $19 million for Apple’s infringement of OPTi’s patent.
The court had ruled previously that Apple had infringed the OPTi patent at issue on April 3, 2009.

Emulex 10Q- Acqusition and Patent Litigation

On January 27, 2009, a patent infringement lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court in the Central District of California as Case No. CV09-00605 R (JWJx) against Emulex by Microprocessor Enhancement Corporation and Michael H. Branigin. The complaint alleges infringement of U.S. Patent No. 5,471,593, and seeks a judgment for damages, injunctive relief, and an award of attorneys’ fees and costs. On March 25, 2009, Emulex filed an answer to the complaint denying allegations and asserting affirmative defenses.

On April 21, 2009, Broadcom Corporation filed a lawsuit in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware against Emulex and its board of directors. The complaint asserts counts for declaratory relief and breach of fiduciary duty in connection with Emulex’s January 2009 amendments to its bylaws, adoption of a new shareholder rights plan to replace its expiring rights plan, and amendments to its Key Employee Retention Agreements. The complaint seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as costs and disbursements, including attorneys and expert fees. The lawsuit was filed in conjunction with Broadcom’s announcement on April 21, 2009, of its proposal to acquire Emulex.

On April 27, 2009, Reid Middleton filed a lawsuit in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware on behalf of himself and all other similarly situated stockholders of Emulex and derivatively on behalf of Emulex. The complaint names the members of Emulex’s board of directors as defendants and Emulex as a nominal defendant. The complaint asserts a claim for breach of fiduciary duty on behalf of a putative class of holders of Emulex common stock and a derivative claim for devaluing the company relating to Emulex’s January 2009 amendments to its bylaws, adoption of a new shareholder rights plan to replace its expiring rights plan, and amendments to its Key Employee Retention Agreements, and Broadcom’s announcement of its proposal to acquire Emulex. The complaint seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, compensatory damages, interest and costs, including attorneys’ and expert fees.


Customer concentration: Last quarter's revenue domiated by IBM 24% and Hewlett-Packard 17%

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

IDT Submits Proposal to Acquire Tundra Semiconductor

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IDT® (Integrated Device Technology, Inc.) (NASDAQ:IDTI), a leading provider of essential mixed signal semiconductor solutions that enrich the digital media experience, today announced it has submitted a written proposal to acquire Tundra Semiconductor Corporation (TSX: TUN) in an all cash offer at a price of
CDN$6.25 per share, or an aggregate purchase price of approximately CDN$120.8 million. Tundra is presently a party to an agreement (the Gennum Agreement) for Gennum Corporation (Gennum; TSX: GND) to acquire Tundra with a mixture of cash and stock. The IDT proposal constitutes a premium of 12%, based on Gennum’s 5-day volume weighted average price of CDN$4.59 per share ended April 24. The Tundra board of directors has determined that the IDT proposal is a superior proposal under the Gennum Agreement. “IDT is excited to present Tundra with an acquisition proposal, which we believe offers significant value to Tundra’s shareholders. The strength of Tundra in serial switching and bridging using PCI Express®, Rapid IO® and VME, combined with IDT’s mixed-signal portfolio and channel capabilities, would reinforce IDT’s leadership in interconnect solutions for the communication, computing, and embedded segments,” said Dr. Ted Tewksbury, president and CEO at IDT. “We believe that this strategic business combination would provide customers with a broader product offering as well as improved service, support and future roadmap of serial connectivity innovations. In addition, we expect the proposed acquisition would be accretive to IDT’s non-GAAP EPS in the third full quarter of combined operations.” Pursuant to the terms of the Gennum Agreement, Gennum has a five business day period that ends at 11:59 pm (EDT) on Friday, May 1, 2009 in which to match the IDT proposal. The IDT Board of Directors has unanimously approved the acquisition proposal to Tundra, and entry into a definitive agreement with Tundra in connection with the IDT proposal, subject to the Gennum five business day matching period and the termination of the Gennum Agreement.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Qualcomm and Broadcom Reach Settlement and Patent Agreement

Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM) and Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM) today announced that they have entered into a settlement and multi-year patent agreement. The agreement will result in the dismissal with prejudice of all litigation between the companies, including all patent infringement claims in the International Trade Commission and U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, as well as the withdrawal by Broadcom of its complaints to the European Commission and the Korea Fair Trade Commission. Under the agreement, the companies have granted certain rights to each other under their respective patent portfolios. Qualcomm will pay Broadcom $891 million over a four-year period. The terms of this agreement will not result in any change to Qualcomm's 3G (e.g., CDMA2000®, WCDMA and TD-SCDMA ) and 4G (e.g., LTE and WiMAX ) licensing revenue model.

The terms of the agreement include, among other elements:
  • Broadcom and Qualcomm agree not to assert patents against each other for their respective integrated circuit products and certain other products and services;
  • Broadcom agrees not to assert its patents against Qualcomm's customers for Qualcomm's integrated circuit products incorporated into cellular products;
  • Qualcomm's customers do not receive rights to any of Broadcom's patents with respect to Qualcomm integrated circuit products incorporated into non-cellular products and equipment;
  • Qualcomm agrees not to assert its patents against Broadcom's customers for Broadcom's integrated circuit products incorporated in non-cellular products;
  • Broadcom customers do not receive rights to any of Qualcomm's patents with respect to Broadcom integrated circuit products incorporated into cellular products and equipment;
  • Qualcomm will pay Broadcom $891 million in cash over a period of four years, of which $200 million will be paid in the quarter ending June 30, 2009. The agreement does not provide for any other scheduled payments between the parties.

Other terms of the agreement are confidential.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Atheros 10Q - Litigation update

On March 30, 2009, PACid Group, LLC (“PACid”) filed a complaint against the Company and 18 other defendants in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division. In the complaint, PACid alleges that certain of the Company’s products infringe U.S. Patent Numbers 5,963,646 and 6,049,612 which relate to generation of encryption keys and methods of protecting information files using such keys. PACid seeks unspecified damages and other relief. Due to its early stage, the Company has not yet had the opportunity to examine the merit of PACid’s allegations.

Freescale 10Q - Continued restructuring

On April 22, 2009, we announced actions to align the Company’s spending with its prior decision to exit the cellular handset business. The plan, which encompasses employment reductions and certain severance costs, was finalized and approved by the Board of Directors on April 17, 2009 and is expected to be completed by December 31, 2009. Implementation of this plan and any specific employment actions related to the plan are subject to satisfaction of legal requirements, including prior consultation on the plan with work councils in some of the countries in which we operate. Restructuring charges for these actions are estimated to be approximately $70 million in cash severance costs.
Total severance and related cash requirements associated with these actions, inclusive of the costs associated with completing the exit of the cellular handset business, total approximately $270 million with corresponding annualized savings of approximately $700 million realized by 2010. We have paid approximately $68 million of the cash restructuring charges in connection with the actions taken through April 3, 2009, resulting in approximately $280 million in annualized cost savings.
We also announced that we are initiating a plan to eliminate our 150mm manufacturing capability. We have experienced a migration from 150mm technologies to advanced technologies at our East Kilbride facility and are now seeing this happen to the technologies and products served by our Sendai, Japan and Toulouse, France 150mm fabs. The long-term trend in declining overall demand for the bulk of the products served by these fabs has resulted in low factory utilization, which has been accelerated by today’s global economic climate. This plan will result in the closure of our Sendai fabrication facility. We have also initiated a formal consultation with employees at our Toulouse facility. The proposal to close the facility will be evaluated through our Toulouse Workforce Council. The Board of Directors approved this plan on April 17, 2009, and we expect this plan to be completed by the end of 2011. We estimate the costs of this plan to be approximately $200 million, including approximately $190 million in cash severance costs and $10 million in cash costs for other exit costs.
Going forward, our business will be highly dependent on demand for electronic content in automobiles, networking and wireless infrastructure equipment and other electronic devices.

Conexant sell broadband access product lines to Ikanos

Conexant Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNXT) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Broadband Access product lines to Ikanos Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: IKAN) for $54 million in cash. Conexant’s Broadband Access business provides solutions for DSL, ADSL, VDSL, SHDSL, and PON applications. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals as well as approval by Ikanos shareholders, is expected to close in the fourth fiscal quarter. Approximately 400 Conexant employees at locations in the United States, India, and China will join Ikanos when the transaction closes. At that time, Conexant’s continuing business will consist of Imaging and PC Media.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Broadcom 8K - Broadcom Offers to Acquire Emulex for $9.25 in Cash

Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM) today announced that it has made a proposal to the Emulex Corporation (NYSE: ELX) Board of Directors to acquire all the outstanding shares of Emulex common stock for $9.25 per share in cash, representing a total equity value of approximately $764 million. The offer represents a 40 percent premium above the closing price of Emulex common stock on April 20, 2009, a 62 percent premium to trailing 30 day average price per share and an approximately 85 percent premium to enterprise value. Broadcom believes that its leadership in Ethernet networking, together with Emulex’s deep expertise in Fibre Channel storage networking, will enable the combined company to accelerate the development of converged solutions for enterprise networks.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Teradyne 8K - Staff and executive pay cuts

"On April 15, 2009, Teradyne, Inc. (“Teradyne”) continued actions as part of the Company’s ongoing efforts to lower expenses and its cost structure in light of the industry wide continued decline in orders for semiconductor production equipment. The actions include:
  • A worldwide reduction in workforce of approximately 350 employees. The terminations are expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2009, and to result in an estimated total severance cash charge of approximately $12 million that will be expensed in the second quarter of 2009.
  • A further reduction in the annual base salaries of executive officers including the Chief Executive Officer commencing May 1, 2009. The further reduction was approved by the Compensation Committee of Teradyne’s Board of Directors. This reduction is in addition to earlier reductions which were implemented on October 1, 2008 and February 1, 2009. When compared to the 2008 executive officer annual base salaries, the effect of the three reductions is that the annual base salary of the executive officers including the Chief Executive Officer has been decreased by 20% from their respective 2008 or starting salary levels......"

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Tessera Extends Agreement With Motorola

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tessera Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:TSRA) today announced that Motorola, Inc. has extended its option agreement with Tessera that enables Motorola to enter into a pre-negotiated license agreement with Tessera and settle all outstanding litigation between the companies. Motorola extended the option until 14 calendar
days after the Final Determination in Tessera's ongoing U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Investigation 337- TA-605 (Wireless ITC action). Other detailed terms of the agreements, including option fees, license fees and license royalties, are confidential. Motorola is one of the respondents in the Wireless ITC action. The ITC is currently scheduled to issue a Final Determination in the Wireless ITC action by May 20, 2009.

Microsemi Acquires Rad Hard Technology From Spectrum Control

Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq:MSCC), a leading manufacturer of high performance analog mixed signal integrated circuits and high reliability semiconductors, today announced that it acquired the Space Level Power Products business of Spectrum Microwave, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Spectrum Control, Inc. (Nasdaq:SPEC).

Spectrum Microwave, Inc. (Spectrum) is a leading provider of RF and Microwave components and systems. The acquired technology consists of MIL-PRF 38534 power products for the Satellite and high-reliability markets including Rad Hard linear regulators, Rad Hard switching regulators, and Rad Hard point of load (POL) devices.

This strategic technology acquisition will have minimal revenues associated with it for the next several quarters. Microsemi will further discuss this acquisition and provide general business updates during its second quarter results conference call on April 23rd.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Altera and Zilog Settle Patent Infringement Suit

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) today announced settlement of its patent litigation with Zilog, Inc. As part of this agreement, Zilog made a one-time payment of an undisclosed amount to Altera and both parties agreed to dismiss their pending patent infringement lawsuits. All other terms of the agreement are confidential.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

SanDisk Issues Statement Regarding ITC Ruling

MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SanDisk® Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) was informed today that an Administrative Law Judge for the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) issued an Initial Determination which found that certain accused flash memory products did not infringe the remaining two SanDisk United States Patents. SanDisk initially asserted five patents in the ITC on October 24, 2007 against 25 companies that manufacture, sell and import USB flash drives, CompactFlash cards, MultiMedia cards, MP3/media players and/or other removable flash storage products. Since then, SanDisk obtained judgments against the following companies: Zotek Electronic Co., Ltd. dba Zodata Technology Limited; Infotech Logistic, LLC dba Supertron Memory; Add-On Technology Co.; Behavior Tech Computer Corp.; Emprex Technologies Corp.; and Behavior Tech Computer USA Corp. dba BTC USA.

In addition, the following companies entered into settlement and license agreements with SanDisk: Trek 2000 International, Ltd., PNY Technologies, Inc., Verbatim Corp., Verbatim Americas, Add-On Computer Peripherals, Inc. and Add-On Computer Peripherals, LLC (collectively, Add-On USA), Edge Tech Corporation, Infotech Logistic, Interactive Media Corp. (Kanguru), Kaser Corporation, TSR Silicon Resources Inc., and Welldone Company. Further, the following companies entered into settlement agreements that included consent orders where the companies agreed to limit their imports of specified products to the United States to SanDisk licensed products: A-DATA Technology Co., Ltd. and A-DATA Technology (USA) Co., Ltd. (collectively, A-DATA entities), Melco Holdings Inc., Buffalo Inc., and Buffalo Technology (USA), Inc. (collectively, Buffalo entities) and Corsair Memory, Inc.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Microchip acquires R&E International

Chandler, Arizona – April 8th, 2009 – (NASDAQ: MCHP) – Microchip Technology Incorporated, a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, today announced it has acquired R&E International, Inc. on March 31, 2009. R&E International is a privately-held developer of both standard and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) focusing on security and life-safety applications, based in Norristown, Pennsylvania. R&E International has supported the varied needs of end-market manufacturers worldwide since 1987 with custom and standard mixed-signal integrated circuit design and manufacturing.

The terms of the deal are confidential, and the deal is expected to be immediately accretive to Microchip’s non-GAAP earnings.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Rambus Acquires Inapac Patents

LOS ALTOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS), one of the world's premier technology licensing companies specializing in high-speed memory architectures, today announced it has acquired a number of patents from Inapac Technology, Inc. to broaden its offerings for the mobile memory market. These patented innovations complement the high-bandwidth, low-power memory technologies developed by Rambus as part of its Mobile Memory Initiative, announced earlier this year. Specific terms of the deal are not disclosed.

These newly acquired patented innovations are key enablers for achieving high manufacturing yields in System-in-Package (SiP) implementations. SiP consists of a number of stacked integrated circuits (IC) – such as a media processor, DRAM, and Flash memory device – enclosed in a single package or module. This technology allows designers to achieve high functionality in a very compact space, ideal for mobile products such as mobile phones and mobile gaming devices. Given its performance characteristics, SiP has applicability in computing and consumer electronics products as well.

“These patented innovations, which have been proven in shipments in over 90M DRAM devices in SiP implementations, broaden our portfolio for the mobile market,” said Herb Gebhart, vice president of Strategic Development at Rambus. “Combined with our high-performance, power-efficient memory technology, we offer compelling solutions that will help our licensees develop a new generation of breakthrough mobile products.”

Known to the industry as SiPFLOW™, the acquired patented innovations greatly increase the assembly yield in SiP devices. Industry-leading reliability rates of less than 100 defective parts per million (DPPM) have been achieved in high-volume SiP containing a DRAM and media processor. Products including the Motorola RAZR V3i and the Sony Ericsson C902 mobile phones have used these patented innovations through separate technology license agreements with Inapac.

Rambus’ Mobile Memory Initiative focuses on the development of high-performance, low-power memory solutions for smartphones, netbooks, portable gaming, and portable multimedia products. Rambus has demonstrated in silicon data rates of 4.3Gbps at best-in-class power efficiency. With this performance, designers could realize more than 17Gigabytes per second of memory bandwidth from a single mobile DRAM device.

ARM Holdings plc 20F

Customer and revenue base: "At December 31, 2008, ARM’s technology has been licensed to 210 semiconductor companies, including many of the leading semiconductor companies worldwide..........In fiscal year 2008 the semiconductor industry as a whole declined by about 4%. The Company once again grew revenues, achieving a growth rate in US dollar revenues of approximately 6%.......Processor Division (PD) dollar license revenues grew by 18% in 2007 and decreased by 11% in 2008. The portfolio of licensable products comprises a rich mix of proven ARM technology, such as the ARM7, ARM9 and ARM11 families of products and newer technology such as the Cortex family of products and the Mali 3D graphics processors. 61 new licenses were signed in 2008 compared to 62 in 2007 and 65 in 2006. Revenues from Cortex family products accounted for 37% of PD license revenues in 2008, compared to 31% in 2007 and 26% in 2006. Cortex products started generating revenue in 2005. ARM11 accounted for 14% of PD license revenues in 2008, compared to 23% in 2007 and 22% in 2006. 23 companies became new ARM Partners in 2008, bringing the total number of semiconductor partners to 210 at the end of 2008."

Revenue by segment:
  • Processor Division: £221.4M
  • Physical IP Division: £46.4M
  • Systems Design Division: £31.1M
Physical IP licenses by geometry: "Licensing momentum for ARM’s 65nm physical IP products continued to grow, with 10 new licenses signed in 2008. By the end of 2008, ARM had signed a total of 47 65nm licenses, 18 45nm licenses and had signed licenses for physical IP with 3 foundries at the most advanced process of 32nm."

Video IP acqusition: "On December 16, 2008, the Company purchased the entire share capital of Logipard AB from Anoto Group AB and other shareholders for total cash consideration of SEK 68 million (£5.5 million) and £0.1 million of related acquisition expenses. The acquisition of video processor technology builds on the success of the ARM’s 3D graphics processor, and enables ARM to provide customers with an integrated multimedia platform, which is becoming increasingly important in devices such as mobile computers, portable media players and digital TVs."

Employees: "At December 31, 2008, the Company had 1,740 full-time employees, including 501 in the United States, 35 in Japan, 13 in South Korea, 10 in Taiwan, 23 in P.R. China and 300 in India."

Patent foundation: "The Company has an active program to protect its proprietary technology through the filing of patents. The Company currently holds 427 US patents on various aspects of its technology, and 734 non-US patents with expiration dates ranging from 2012 to 2029. In addition, the Company has 414 patent applications pending in the United States and an additional 576 patent applications pending in the United Kingdom and various other jurisdictions.....The number of proposed patent applications submitted by ARM employees was 143 in 2008..."

OPTi Receives Rulings on Summary Judgment Motions in Patent Infringement Action Against Apple Inc.

Palo Alto, CA., April 4, 2009 – OPTi Inc (OTCBB:OPTI) today announced that the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued rulings in the ongoing patent infringement action between OPTi Inc (“OPTi”) and Apple Inc. (“Apple”). The rulings arise from motions filed by both parties and argued before the court on April 2, 2009.
The rulings as issued on April 3, 2009 are:
  • The court granted OPTi’s summary judgment motion that Apple’s accused products infringe the patent at suit and denied Apple’s cross-motion for summary judgment that its products do not infringe the patents-in-suit.
  • The court denied Apple’s motion seeking summary judgment that OPTi was entitled to no pre-suit damages for certain products. The Court ruled that whether OPTi had given Apple proper notification of infringement on those products is a question for the jury to decide.
  • The court granted in part and denied in part Apple’s motion seeking to exclude the opinions of OPTi’s damages expert. The court ruled that the facts in the case do not support application of the entire market value rule, and that OPTi’s expert would be allowed to present to the jury the balance of the opinions that were the subject of Apple’s motion.
The trial of OPTi’s claims against Apple is scheduled to begin on April 17, 2009. On January 16, 2007, the Company announced that it filed a complaint against Apple, in the Eastern District of Texas, for infringement of its U.S. patents covering its “pre-snoop” technology. The patent currently at issue in the lawsuit is U.S. patent No. 6,405,291, entitled “Predictive Snooping of Cache Memory for Master-Initiated Accesses”.

Monday, April 6, 2009

$8 Million in New Financing for Ember

BOSTON and CAMBRIDGE, U.K., APRIL 6, 2009 - Fueled by the significant surge in the deployment of smart meters, Ember Corporation, a leading provider of ZigBee wireless networking technology, today announced it closed an additional $8 million in funding from its primary venture capital investors and strategic partners.

Polaris Venture Partners, GrandBanks Capital, RRE Ventures, Vulcan Capital, DFJ ePlanet Ventures, New Atlantic Ventures, WestLB Mellon Asset Management (formerly West AM) and strategic partners such as Chevron Technology Ventures and Stata Venture Partners participated in the round. This new round combined with existing investments from STMicroelectronics, Hitachi Corporation and MIT bring the total capital Ember has raised to $89 million.

The company also announced the expansion of its sales channels with the addition of new distributors in Australia, New Zealand, India and Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China which are emerging as key markets for ZigBee-enabled smart meters.

About Ember
Ember Corporation (http://www.ember.com) develops ZigBee wireless networking technology that enables companies involved in energy technologies – enertech – to help make buildings and homes smarter, consume less energy, operate more efficiently, and keep people comfortable and safe. Ember’s low-power wireless technology can be embedded into a wide variety of devices to be part of a self-organizing mesh network. Ember is headquartered in Boston and has its radio development center in Cambridge, England, and distributors worldwide. The company is a promoter and Board member of the ZigBee Alliance and its platform is the “Golden Suite” for 802.15.4/ZigBee interoperability testing.

LSI To Purchase AMCC RAID Adapter Business

MILPITAS, Calif., April 6, 2009 – LSI Corporation (NYSE: LSI) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets and certain associated intellectual property of the 3ware® RAID adapter business of Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (NASDAQ: AMCC) for approximately $20 million in cash.
3ware products include SAS and SATA RAID adapters designed to offer cost-effective, high-performance, high-capacity storage solutions for a broad range of applications. 3ware adapters are sold to end users through a worldwide network of channel partners including leading storage distributors and system builders.
"The indirect channel plays an important role in delivering today’s increasingly capable, yet often complex storage solutions to customers of all sizes," said Abhi Talwalkar, LSI president and chief executive officer. "The addition of the 3ware business to the LSI storage portfolio uniquely positions us to provide an unmatched breadth of rich storage solutions coupled with the outstanding channel support needed to help channel partners maximize their effectiveness."
The transaction is expected to close within thirty days and is subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Upon closing, the 3ware business will be integrated into the LSI Engenio Storage Group.
LSI expects the acquisition to be neutral to non-GAAP* earnings per share in 2009. The company expects to provide further details in April when it reports first quarter results.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Infineon voluntary delists from New York Stock Exchange

Neubiberg, Germany — April 03, 2009 — Infineon Technologies AG today announced that it has applied to voluntarily delist its American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) from the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). The Company expects that the delisting will take effect on April 24, 2009, and that as of that date, the ADSs will no longer be traded on the NYSE. Infineon intends to file for deregistration and termination of its reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) as soon as possible following the first anniversary of the delisting.
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange represents Infineon’s principal trading market, with trading on the NYSE accounting for a relatively low percentage of trading of its ADSs and ordinary shares on a worldwide basis. Infineon has therefore weighed the benefits of listing on the NYSE against the associated costs and reached the decision that continuing the listing of the ADSs is no longer commercially justifiable.
Infineon will maintain its ADS facility as a “Level I” program and pursue a listing of its ADSs on the over-the-counter market OTCQX. Infineon’s ordinary shares will continue to be traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and the Company will continue to comply with the rigorous German disclosure and transparency requirements. Infineon will continue to publish its financial reports, press releases and other information in English for investors on its website.
After delisting and until deregistration is effective, Infineon will comply with its reporting obligations under the Exchange Act. After deregistration, Infineon will continue to maintain the level of disclosure expected by the international financial markets.

Tessera Announces Executive Changes

SAN JOSE, Calif. – April. 3, 2009 – Tessera Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSRA) today announced two key executive transitions, effective immediately. Bruce McWilliams, chief strategy officer, will leave his day-to-day role to pursue other opportunities, but will continue to serve as chairman of the Tessera board of directors. His responsibilities for developing company strategy will be assumed by John Keating, senior vice president of corporate development.

Scot Griffin, executive vice president of Tessera’s Micro-electronics business, will leave the company to pursue other business opportunities. Leadership of the Micro-electronics business will be assumed by Craig Mitchell, senior vice president of Interconnect, Components and Materials; and by Brian Marcucci, senior vice president of Business Development & Licensing. Responsibility for litigation and other IP protection activity related to the Micro-electronics business has been assumed by Bernard J. “Barney” Cassidy, general counsel and senior vice president, who joined Tessera in November of 2008. Griffin will continue as a consultant to the company regarding IP strategy for a period of three months.

Exar Corporation Closes Hifn Acquisition

FREMONT, Calif., April 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Exar Corporation (Nasdaq: EXAR) announced today that it has closed the previously announced acquisition of hi/fn, inc. ("Hifn"), effective April 3, 2009. Al Sisto, the former chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors of Hifn, has joined Exar's board of directors. It is expected that Hifn's personnel and operations will be relocated during the second calendar quarter of 2009.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Marvell 10K

Customer concentration: "Customers representing 10% or more of our net revenue in fiscal 2009: Western Digital 21%."

Wafer foundry: "We currently outsource a substantial percentage of our integrated circuit manufacturing to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, with the remaining manufacturing outsourced to other foundries primarily in Asia."

Assembly and test: "We outsource all product packaging and substantially all testing requirements for our production products to several assembly and test subcontractors, including STATS ChipPAC Ltd. and Global Testing Corporation in Singapore, Siliconware Precision Industries in Taiwan and ASE Electronics in Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia."

Employees: "As of January 31, 2009, we had a total of 5,552 employees.........On March 5, 2009, in response to the deteriorating global economic environment we announced plans to lower our overall costs and expenses. As a result of this plan and combined with certain cost reduction measures taken in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, we plan to reduce our global workforce by approximately 15%, or approximately 850 employees..........We have substantial operations, including approximately 21% of our workforce as of January 31, 2009, in Israel. "

Patent foundation: "As of January 31, 2009, we have been issued and/or have acquired over 850 U.S. patents and over 200 foreign patents and we have more than 2,300 U.S. and foreign pending patent applications on various aspects of our technology, with expiration dates ranging approximately from 2010 to 2027."

New patent litigation: "On March 6, 2009, Carnegie Mellon University filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania naming MSI and the Company and alleging patent infringement. Carnegie Mellon has asserted two patents purportedly relating to hard disk drive products that incorporate read-channel integrated circuits. Because this action was only recently filed, MSI and the Company have not yet answered the complaint. The Company is in the process of reviewing these patents and hiring counsel to defend us in this action. This action is in the very early stages, however, the Company intends to contest this action vigorously, but is unable to predict the outcome of this action."

Trident Microsystems to Acquires Product Lines from Micronas

Santa Clara, Calif. — March 31, 2009: Trident Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRID), a leader in high-performance semiconductor system solutions for the multimedia and digital television (DTV) markets, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Micronas Semiconductor Holding AG (SIX Swiss Exchange: MASN) to acquire selected assets of the frame rate converter (FRC), demodulator and audio product lines of Micronas’ Consumer Division. The consideration payable to Micronas will consist of 7.0 million shares of Trident common stock and warrants to acquire up to 3.0 million additional Trident shares.

Under the terms of the agreement, Trident will acquire products, technology and intellectual property used in Micronas’ FRC line of frame rate converters, the DRX line of demodulators and all of the Micronas audio processing products. Upon completion of the acquisition, we expect our total headcount to increase by approximately 150 employees located throughout the world. Following the close of the transaction, Trident will have new design centers in Munich and Freiburg, Germany, as well as Nijmegen, The Netherlands and expects to establish its European headquarters in Munich. In connection with the acquisition, Trident will issue 7.0 million common shares to Micronas, which are valued at approximately $10 million, based on the closing price of Trident common stock on Tuesday March 31, 2009. Trident will also issue warrants to Micronas to acquire up to 3.0 million additional Trident shares. One million warrants will vest on each of the second, third and fourth anniversaries of the closing of the acquisition, with exercise prices of $4.00 per share, $4.25 per share and $4.50 per share, respectively. If not yet exercised, the warrants will expire on the fifth anniversary of the closing of the acquisition. Upon closing, Micronas will own approximately 10 percent of Trident, without giving effect to the exercise of the warrants or any other dilutive securities. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Trident’s fiscal year, ending June 30, 2009, and remains subject to the satisfaction of closing conditions contained in the definitive agreement, including certain regulatory approvals.

Union Square Advisors LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to Trident. DLA Piper LLP and Schellenberg Wittmer served as legal counsel to Trident.