Almere, The Netherlands
July 1, 2019, 8 a.m. CET
ASM INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES SETTLEMENT OF PATENT LITIGATION
ASM International N.V. (Euronext Amsterdam: ASM) today announces that it has entered into a settlement agreement with Kokusai Electric Corporation to resolve all lawsuits regarding the use and infringement of patents.
The settlement resolves and ends all lawsuits and invalidation proceedings initiated by ASM and Kokusai Electric’s predecessor Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc. in the US and Japan. These lawsuits concerned the use of intellectual property, as first announced on February 23, 2018, following the expiration of a license agreement. Under the terms of the settlement agreement Kokusai Electric will pay ASM an amount of US$115 million, parties will provide each other a portfolio wide cross-license until July 1, 2021, and a license for any litigated patents (or counterparts thereof).
“We are pleased to have settled these lawsuits with Kokusai Electric,” said Chuck del Prado, President and CEO of ASMI. “We believe this settlement further underscores the strength of our intellectual property portfolio.”
This settlement is unrelated to the previously announced arbitration proceeding that ASM initiated in August 2017 with the American Arbitration Association against Kokusai Electric for breach of the license agreement that expired in November 2017. A final decision in the arbitration is expected in the course of the coming months.
The settlement agreement was not included in our Q2 2019 guidance as published on April 24, 2019, and will positively impact ASMI’s sales and bookings in Q2 2019 with an amount of approximately US$115 million, or approximately €103 million.
About ASM International
ASM International NV, headquartered in Almere, the Netherlands, its subsidiaries and participations design and manufacture equipment and materials used to produce semiconductor devices. ASM International, its subsidiaries and participations provide production solutions for wafer processing (Front-end segment) as well as for assembly & packaging and surface mount technology (Back-end segment) through facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan and Asia. ASM International's common stock trades on the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange (symbol ASM). For more information, visit ASMI's website at www.asm.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: All matters discussed in this press release, except for any historical data, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These include, but are not limited to, economic conditions and trends in the semiconductor industry generally and the timing of the industry cycles specifically, currency fluctuations, corporate transactions, financing and liquidity matters, the success of restructurings, the timing of significant orders, market acceptance of new products, competitive factors, litigation involving intellectual property, shareholders or other issues, commercial and economic disruption due to natural disasters, terrorist activity, armed conflict or political instability, epidemics and other risks indicated in the Company's reports and financial statements. The Company assumes no obligation nor intends to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future developments or circumstances.
This press release contains inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.
CONTACT
Investor contact:
Victor Bareño
T: +31 88 100 8500
E: victor.bareno@asm.com
Media contact:
Ian Bickerton
T: +31 625 018 512
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