Memorychip maker Mosel Vitelic Inc (茂矽) said yesterday that a settlement it has reached with 33 US states to resolve price-fixing allegations will have only limited impact on the company’s operations.
Mosel Vitelic and five other dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chipmakers reached a US$173 million agreement to settle price-fixing allegations with the 33 states.
The five other manufacturers are Micron Technology Inc of the US, NEC Electronics America Inc, Infineon Technologies AG of Germany, Hynix Semiconductor Inc of South Korea and Elpida Memory Inc of Japan.
While Mosel Vitelic declined to disclose the share it will pay for the settlement, it said it has assigned an unspecified provision for litigation costs and settlement payments, but added that the litigation process had incurred considerable costs for the company.
The US Department of Justice launched probes into price-fixing claims involving the six DRAM firms in 2002, alleging that all six colluded to fix prices between 1998 and 2002. The 33 US states moved to file a class-action lawsuit against the companies in 2006.
California Attorney General Edmund Brown Jr, who was involved in the investigation, said salespeople and management of the DRAM firms met frequently to exchange pricing information and agreed to overcharge customers.
Earlier this month, the US Department of Justice indicted Taiwanese flat-panel maker AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and six of its executives on charges of price-fixing. The company has vowed to fight the charges to clear its name and protect its reputation and credibility.
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