Imagination Fails to Resolve Apple Dispute, Plans Non-Graphics Sale

By Rory Gallivan

LONDON--Smartphone chip designer Imagination Technologies Group PLC (IMG.LN) Thursday announced plans to sell a large part of its business and said it has failed to make progress in a dispute with its biggest customer Apple Inc. (AAPL).

Imagination's shares tumbled in April when Apple said it plans to stop using the U.K. chip designer's technology to process graphics in its iPhones and other devices.

Imagination said Thursday that it hasn't made "satisfactory progress" with Apple on agreeing alternative commercial arrangements for the licensing and royalty agreements the two companies have.

It said it has started a dispute resolution procedure with Apple with a view to reaching an agreement through a more structured process.

The chip maker also said it plans to sell its MIPS and Ensigma businesses, which operate in non-graphics areas such as connectivity and central processing units for devices, to focus on its core graphics business. MIPS and Ensigma accounted for about a third of Imagination's revenue in its last reported results.

Imagination also said it finished the fiscal year ended April 30 strongly, with results expected to be in line with previous guidance.

Write to Rory Gallivan at [e-mail]; Twitter: @RoryGallivan

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 04, 2017 03:14 ET (07:14 GMT)

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