Emulex Sues Broadcom, Alleges Anticompetitive Conduct
By Jerry A. DiColo, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Emulex Corp. (ELX) filed a lawsuit Monday against rival
Broadcom Corp. (BRCM), alleging Broadcom has acted to squash competition in part
of the networking market and also made defamatory statements during a failed
acquisition attempt earlier this year.
In the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of
California, Emulex alleges Broadcom is engaged in anticompetitive conduct in the
market for storage networking, which helps connect the servers in company data
centers.
Emulex also alleges that in its takeover attempt, and in a more recent patent
infringement lawsuit, Broadcom has made false, misleading and defamatory
statements about Emulex to customers and industry analysts.
Broadcom did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified punitive damages and injunctive relief,
represents the latest legal sparring between the two tech firms that has grown
increasingly nasty over the past year.
Earlier this year, Broadcom attempted a hostile acquisition of Emulex, which
was rebuffed. Amid the battle, both firms lobbed lawsuits, with Emulex attacking
Broadcom's former leadership that was involved in an options backdating scandal
earlier this decade.
Emulex shares were recently up 0.6% to $10.06. Broadcom shares were recently
up 4.9% to $28.20.
-By Jerry A. DiColo, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2155; jerry.dicolo@
dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-09-091537ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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