Rambus Inc.
(
RMBS
) signed a patent licensing agreement with Fujitsu Semiconductor
Ltd. for an undisclosed sum. Per the terms of the agreement,
Fujitsu can use Rambus' patented technology for its integrated
circuit products for six years. Rambus, on the other hand, will
receive royalty payments based on the shipment of these devices
during the contract period.
Fujitsu is one of the leading players in the semiconductor
market. Though Rambus' financial benefits from the deal could not
be gauged due to lack of sufficient information, the company's
growth prospects are quite evident.
Rambus' innovative patented technologies are of great importance
to chipmakers that tend to use them for making advanced chips to be
used in computer or electronic goods. Hence, the company has been
signing a number of multi-year licensing deals per year, most of
which are from semiconductor companies. Over the past few months,
Rambus has licensed its technology to
NVIDIA Corp.
(
NVDA
),
Broadcom Corp.
(
BRCM
) and MediaTek Inc. for their respective integrated circuit
products.
Apart from this, Rambus has also licensed patented technology
for its advanced lighting products to Alton, Hampshire-based Fern
Howard, a recognized producer of energy efficient lighting
solutions.
Though Rambus' technologies are getting popular, they often
attract infringement lawsuits. The company had witnessed some
victorious moments defeating tech big shot NVIDIA, but lost
lawsuits against
Micron Technology Inc.
(
MU
),
LSI Corp.
(
LSI
) and
STMicroelectronics
(
STM
).
But recently, the company tasted success against Hynix
Semiconductor. According to the ruling, Hynix was found guilty of
infringing Rambus' patents and is liable to pay all arrear
royalties to the plaintiff.
We believe that Rambus' growth story would remain intact, given
its ability to settle legal claims, growing exposure in the LED
arena and continuous deal wins. Moreover, we expect synergies from
the acquisition of privately-held memory technology provider Unity
Semiconductor Corp. in February.
However, Rambus' weak performance in the past few quarters and
the bankruptcy of Elpida, one of its largest customers, keep us
concerned.
Currently, Rambus has a Zacks #3 Rank, indicating a short-term
Hold rating.
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