The suit was filed in the US district Court for the Southern District of California. The complaint alleges that a number of Wolfson’s products infringe two of Cirrus Logic’s US patents.
Cirrus has clashed with Wolfson before. Earlier this year Wolfson won an exclusive contract to supply chips for Microsoft’s [MSFT] XBox console. The previous provider was Thomson Multimedia, which sourced chips from Cirrus. Cirrus is also engaged in five other legal cases, three of which involve accusations of patent infringement.
Wolfson has reviewed Cirrus’s allegations with its legal advisers and believes they are without merit, saying it would vigorously defend itself against Cirrus’ allegations, and in any case does not believe the allegations will have a material adverse effect on its business. Consequently it does not anticipate making a provision in its accounts for the claims.
In connection with its proposed IPO and listing on the LSE, it will announce its flotation price during the coming week.
The flotation is expected to generate strong demand, which should ensure Wolfson’s shares are priced at, or near, the top end of the $2.58 (GBP1.55) to $3.66 (GBP2.20) per-share indicative price range, valuing the company at up to $354.6 million (GBP213 million).
Wolfson grew out of the Wolfson Microelectronics Institute at the University of Edinburgh, which pioneered the engineering of computer-aided design software and integrated circuit design techniques. David Milne and Jim Reid, its Scottish founders, own 5.5% of the shares. Many of Wolfson’s 124 staff collectively own about 20%, and will be able to cash in their shares.
Wolfson specializes in mixed signal semiconductors with its chips used in a wide range of consumer electronics products such as Microsoft’s Xbox games console, Apple Computer Inc’s [AAPL] iPod, DVD players, and digital TVs.
This article was based on material originally published by ComputerWire.
