SK Hynix to Pay $432 Million More to Rambus

By Don Clark 

Rambus Inc. said it would receive an additional $432 million from chip maker SK Hynix Inc. under a six-year extension of a licensing agreement, the latest fruits from a trove of patents that prompted years of court battles.

Under the deal announced Thursday, SK Hynix would continue to pay Rambus about $12 million a quarter until 2024. The companies in 2013 agreed to settle their legal disputes, with SK Hynix agreeing to pay $240 million over five years through the $12 million quarterly payments.

SK Hynix, based in South Korea, is one of the largest makers of the chip known as dynamic random access memory, or DRAM. Competitors include Samsung Electronics Co. and Micron Technology Inc.

Rambus, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., in the 1990s developed technologies to help boost the performance of memory chips. After failing to convince chip makers to license its technology, Rambus resorted to patent litigation that prompted a legal backlash along with antitrust charges by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The agency dropped its case after an adverse ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In recent years, Rambus made peace with most of its former opponents. In December 2013, for example, Micron agreed to pay up to $280 million to Rambus over seven years.

The company has also invested in businesses that aren't dependent on litigation. It paid $342.5 million in June 2011 to buy Cryptography Research Inc., a San Francisco company specializing in security products that include chips used to protect content on pay TV systems and in anticounterfeiting applications.

Ronald Black, who joined Rambus in 2012 as president and chief executive, said SK Hynix's decision to extend the licensing agreement showed his company's ability to provide valuable technology to chip makers and "reaffirms our commitment to work collaboratively with customers."

Write to Don Clark at [e-mail]

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