Intel and AMD have been involved in
long-standing dispute over intellectual property and antitrust
issues. Intel was fined
$1.45B by the EU for its anticompetitive practices and last week,
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed
an antitrust lawsuit against Intel.
Cuomo had rather harsh words for Intel,
stating, “Rather than compete fairly, Intel used bribery and
coercion to maintain a stranglehold on the market. Intel’s actions
not only unfairly restricted potential competitors, but also hurt
average consumers who were robbed of better products and lower
prices.”
However, Intel and AMD now appear to be
making amends. The pair issued a joint statement today which reads,
“While the relationship between the two companies has been
difficult in the past, this agreement ends the legal disputes and
enables the companies to focus all of our efforts on product
innovation and development.”
As a part of the settlement, Intel will
pay AMD $1.25 billion, AMD will drop all of its pending lawsuits against Intel, and the pair will enter into a new 5-year cross
license agreement. In addition, Intel will "abide by a set of
business practice provisions" in the future.
AMD CEO Dirk Meyer today championed the
agreement, stating, "Today, I am pleased to announce the last
major component of that transformation – in the form of a
transparent and public agreement with Intel to create a level playing
field in the x86 processor industry – taking us one big step closer
to achieving our bold vision."
Meyer continued, adding, "Today
marks the beginning of a new era... one that confirms that the game
has changed for AMD. It is an important milestone for us, for our
customers, our partners, and most important – for consumers and
businesses worldwide. In addition, it represents the culmination many
years of litigation and regulatory engagement."
Following the announcement, AMD shares are up 25 percent to $6.61 while Intel is up almost a percentage point to $20.05 as of 10:00 AM EST.
