FT Alphaville did not see this coming: AMD and Intel on Thursday declared the end of one of the longest-running and bitterest spats in the technology sector (see also: Apple v Microsoft, Yahoo v Google, Google v Microsoft, Microsoft v Everyone).
As part of the reconciliation, Intel will pay AMD $1.25bn, and “abide by a set of business practices”, whatever that means.
Here’s the statement the chip makers jointly released:
Intel Corporation and Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) today announced a comprehensive agreement to end all outstanding legal disputes between the companies, including antitrust litigation and patent cross license disputes.
In a joint statement the two companies commented, “While the relationship between the two companies has been difficult in the past, this agreement ends the legal disputes and enables the companies to focus all of our efforts on product innovation and development.”
Under terms of the agreement, AMD and Intel obtain patent rights from a new 5-year cross license agreement, Intel and AMD will give up any claims of breach from the previous license agreement, and Intel will pay AMD 1.25 billion. Intel has also agreed to abide by a set of business practice provisions.
As a result, AMD will drop all pending litigation including the case in U.S. District Court in Delaware and two cases pending in Japan. AMD will also withdraw all of its regulatory complaints worldwide. The agreement will be made public in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
It remains to be seen how this will affect the anti-trust lawsuit filed by the New York Attorney General’s office against Intel earlier this month (and how the millions of AMD and Intel fanboys on the interwebs will react).
In early trading on Wall Street, AMD’s shares spiked more than 20 per cent, while Intel’s rose about 1 per cent.
Related links:
FACTBOX: Five facts on Intel vs AMD rivalry – Reuters