SEOUL, South Korea & LOS ALTOS, Calif., Jan 19, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Samsung Electronics and Rambus (NASDAQ:RMBS) announced today that they
have reached agreement settling all claims between them and licensing
Rambus' patent portfolio covering all Samsung semiconductor products
including a perpetual fully paid-up license to certain current DRAM
products. As part of the overall agreement, Samsung will invest $200M in
Rambus stock. Other consideration to Rambus includes an initial payment
of $200M and a quarterly payment of about $25M for the next five years.
In addition, Samsung and Rambus have signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) relating to a new generation of memory technologies
which brings together Samsung's leadership in memory technologies with
Rambus' innovations in high performance memory interfaces. The two
companies will initially focus on graphics and mobile memory solutions
and will further review a potential collaboration on server and
high-speed NAND Flash memories.
Both Samsung and Rambus said they are pleased to resolve their
differences and move forward.
"We have a tremendous opportunity to renew a partnership which has
created solutions that have benefited consumers worldwide," said Harold
Hughes, President and CEO of Rambus. "Bringing together Samsung's market
and technology leadership with our innovations for high-performance and
high-efficiency memory architectures will make possible an exciting new
generation of mobile, computing and consumer electronics products."
Rambus management will discuss this agreement during a special
conference call today at 3:00 p.m. PT. The call will be webcast and can
be accessed through the Rambus website. A replay will be available
following the call on Rambus' Investor Relations website or for one week
at the following numbers: (888) 203-1112 (domestic) or (719) 457-0820
(international) with ID# 4815324.
About Samsung
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor,
telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies
with 2008 consolidated sales of US$96 billion. Employing approximately
164,600 people in 179 offices across 61 countries, the company consists
of seven independently operated business units: Visual Display, Mobile
Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT
Solutions, Semiconductor and LCD. Recognized as one of the fastest
growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of
digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more
information, please visit www.samsung.com.
About Rambus
Rambus is one of the world's premier technology licensing companies.
Founded in 1990, the Company specializes in the invention and design of
architectures focused on enhancing the end user experience of computing,
communications and consumer electronics applications. Rambus' patented
innovations and breakthrough technologies in the area of high-speed
memory architectures and complementary technologies have helped
industry-leading chip and system companies bring superior products to
market. Rambus' technology and renowned integration expertise solve some
of the most complex chip and system-level interface challenges. Rambus
licenses both its world-class patent portfolio as well as its family of
leadership and industry-standard interface products. Headquartered in
Los Altos, California, Rambus has regional offices in North Carolina,
Ohio, India, Germany, Japan, and Taiwan. Additional information is
available at www.rambus.com.
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SOURCE: Rambus
Samsung Electronics
Chris Goodhart, 408-544-4122
cgoodhart@ssi.samsung.com
or
Rambus Inc.
Linda Ashmore, 650-947-5411
lashmore@rambus.com
Copyright Business Wire 2010