Vringo Reaches Deal For More Than 500 Nokia Patents
08/09/2012| 09:22am US/Eastern
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By Tess Stynes and Ben Fox Rubin
Vringo Inc. (>> Vringo, Inc.) agreed to acquire more than 500 patents related to telecom infrastructure hardware from mobile phone giant Nokia Corp. (>> Nokia Oyj) in a $22 million deal.
The video-ringtone company's shares rose 5.2% to $3.62 in recent premarket trading. Through Wednesday's close, the stock has more than tripled this year.
Vringo also said it reached agreements to sell 9.6 million of its shares in a direct offering for $3.25 each to fund the patent deal and for other purposes. Vringo anticipates proceeds of roughly $31.2 million.
The new portfolio, which includes patent applications, will be used to start a new licensing and litigation campaign. The portfolio includes about 109 U.S. patents.
The portfolio includes a broad range of technologies relating to cellular infrastructure--including third-generation and fourth-generation wireless technology. A majority of patents were granted in late 1990s and early 2000s and the average lifespan of each patent is about 6.7 years.
AOL Inc. (>> AOL, Inc.) recently agreed to settle part of a patent dispute brought by Vringo, giving Vringo another potential win in its ongoing lawsuit against some of the biggest names in the technology sector.
Vringo last month completed a merger with intellectual-property firm Innovate/Protect, a company that filed a patent suit against AOL, Google Inc. (>> Google Inc), IAC/InterActiveCorp. (>> IAC/InterActiveCorp), Gannett Co. (>> Gannett Co., Inc.) and Target Corp. (>> Target Corporation) last year. The company acquired eight patents from Lycos and claims two of those patents were infringed.
The company plans to provide further details of its agreement with Nokia in a conference call Thursday at 10 a.m. EDT.
Write to Tess Stynes at Tess.Stynes@dowjones.com
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