MIPS gives way to the ARM Consortium; Imagination buys business, ARM gets patents

[caveman-jim]

Potentially very exciting news for HSA Foundation members as two HSA Foundation Founder Members participate in acquisitions of MIPS business and patents. If Bridge Crossing licenses MIPS to HSA members then AMD will be the only technology provider with x86, ARM and MIPS architectures available to their design team; however, the lack of participation in the investment group may preclude them from benefiting, despite Imagination Technologies and ARM's Founder Member status of the HSA Foundation.

ARM today announced that it is a leading member of Bridge Crossing LLC, a consortium of major technology companies affiliated with Allied Security Trust, which has entered into an agreement with MIPS to obtain rights to its patent portfolio. The MIPS patent portfolio includes 580 patents and patent applications covering microprocessor design, system-on-chip design and other related technology fields. The consortium will pay $350 million in cash to acquire rights to the portfolio, of which ARM will contribute $167.5 million.

The transaction will, upon completion, support continued innovation in system-on-chip design, whilst removing any potential litigation risk presented by the MIPS patent portfolio with respect to the consortium members. The consortium will make licenses to the patent portfolio available to companies not within the consortium.

"ARM is a leading participant in this consortium which presents an opportunity for companies to neutralize any potential infringement risk from these patents in the further development of advanced embedded technology," said Warren East, CEO, ARM. "Litigation is expensive and time-consuming and, in this case, a collective approach with other major industry players was the best way to remove that risk."

Source - ARM

Imagination Technologies Group plc (LSE:IMG, "Imagination"), a leading multimedia, communications and embedded processor technology company, has signed an agreement to acquire the operating business and certain patent properties, as well as license rights to all of the remaining patent properties, of MIPS Technologies, Inc. ("MIPS"), a leading provider of CPU (central processing unit) processor architectures and cores, for a cash consideration of US$60 million.

In addition to the operating business of MIPS, Imagination’s purchase includes ownership of 82 key patent properties (the “Retained Patent Properties”) that are directly relevant to the MIPS® architecture, and comprehensive license rights to all of the remaining 498 MIPS’ patent properties (the “Divested Patent Properties”). In a separate transaction, the Divested Patent Properties are being sold to Bridge Crossing LLC, by MIPS for US$350 million.

Source - Imagination Technology

MIPS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:MIPS), a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for home entertainment, networking, mobile and embedded applications, today announced it has entered into separate definitive agreements with Bridge Crossing LLC ("Bridge Crossing"), an acquisition vehicle of Allied Security Trust ("AST"), and Imagination Technologies Group plc (LSE:IMG) ("Imagination") with net proceeds of approximately $7.31 per share in cash to each holder of MIPS common stock. The total value of the transaction represents a 40% premium to the closing price on April 11, 2012, the day prior to the first public rumor of a potential sale of MIPS.

Bridge Crossing will acquire 498 of MIPS' total 580 patent assets for gross proceeds of $350 million. MIPS will retain the remaining 82 patent properties that are directly relevant and key to the MIPS architecture, and will also be granted a royalty-free, perpetual license under all of the patent properties sold to Bridge Crossing. MIPS will also provide a restricted license to Bridge Crossing under the 82 retained patent properties. Subject to consummation of the Bridge Crossing transaction, Imagination will acquire the operating business of MIPS, the 82 aforementioned patent properties, and license rights to all of the remaining patent properties of MIPS for $60 million.

Source - Nasdaq.com