Infineon Undervalued Former Chip Unit Qimonda by $1.88 Billion, Court Expert Says

By David Sachs

Infineon Technologies undervalued its defunct memory-chip business, Qimonda, by 1.72 billion euros ($1.88 billion) during its carve-out for a public listing, the German semiconductor company said, citing a court-appointed expert's decision in a legal dispute spanning 14 years.

Qimonda, a memory-chip company in which Infineon owned a majority stake, filed for insolvency in 2009, three years after its public listing. Insolvency administrator Michael Jaffe later sued Infineon in Munich district court, claiming that Qimonda was entitled to a reimbursement because Infineon omitted certain declarations during the carve-out.

Infineon said late Monday that the expert pegged Qimonda's foreign business at minus EUR1.045 billion and its domestic business at minus EUR72.3 million, but that the sum does not equate to a liability for Infineon.

"The submission of the opinion represents an interim step in the pending legal dispute," the company said. "The amount of potential liability of Infineon depends on other aspects."

Jaffe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Infineon said it is unclear when a decision by the court will be reached.

As of Sept. 30, Infineon said it has recognized EUR212 million in provisions related to the lawsuit with Qimonda.

Write to David Sachs at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 09, 2024 02:52 ET (07:52 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.