InterDigital strikes $375mn deal to sell 1,700 patented technologies to Intel | WPN World People News

Wireless technologies company InterDigital Inc, which had been seeking a buyer, has agreed to sell about 1,700 technology patents to chipmaker Intel Corp. for $375 million in cash,

The patents relate to 3G, LTE and 802.11 technologies all at the core of its mobile devices, networks, and services worldwide the company announced Monday, leading to its shares surging about 28 per cent on the Nasdaq
.
The companies expect the transaction to be completed in third quarter 2012, subject to customary closing conditions and any required regulatory approvals.

After having failed to find a buyer for the company as a whole, Pennsylvania-based InterDigital early this year announced plans to monetize its patents.

"We announced at the start of the year that InterDigital would seek to broaden our strategies to monetize our patent portfolio through sales, licensing partnerships and other means, and the transaction with Intel is a significant milestone in those efforts," said William Merritt, InterDigital chief executive.

Scott McQuilkin, Senior Executive Vice President, Strategy and Finance at InterDigital, said the transaction involves a small portion of the company's overall patent portfolio and marks an important milestone in the plans to monetization its large and growing intellectual property portfolio.

The acquisition of the patented technologies is expected to help Intel further its plans to establish itself in the mobile devices market.

On April 23, the company had launched Lava XOLO X900, the first mobile phone to run on Intel processor.

"These patents will support Intel's strategic investments in the mobile segment," said Doug Melamed, Intel Senior Vice President and General Counsel.

InterDigital has meanwhile reaffirmed its second-quarter revenue guidance of about $71 million, which includes about $9 million from sale of four patents in a separate deal. .

InterDigital also boosted its stock buyback plan to $200 million from $100 million.

Source: United States News.Net