It was just on Friday that Citigroup downgraded disk-drive makers Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) and Seagate Technology Ltd. (NASDAQ: STX)
to Sell based on the current technology climate. Now we have a
development on an ongoing arbitration between the two companies,
according to an SEC filing this morning. At issue is a $630 million
award being vacated where Seagate had alleged misappropriation of eight
alleged trade secrets by Western Digital and a former employee.
The SEC filing said:
On October 12, 2012, the District Court of Hennepin County, Minnesota
(the "Court") vacated, in full, the $630.4 million final arbitration
award previously issued against Western Digital Corporation (the
"Company") in the arbitration between the Company and Seagate
Technology, LLC ("Seagate") that concluded on January 23, 2012. In the
arbitration, Seagate alleged, among other things, misappropriation of
eight alleged trade secrets by the Company and a now former employee.
The Court confirmed the arbitration award with respect to each of the
five trade secret claims that Western Digital and the former employee
had won at the arbitration, and vacated the arbitration award with
respect to the three trade secret claims that Western Digital and the
former employee had lost. The Court ordered that a rehearing be held
concerning those three alleged trade secrets before a new arbitrator
agreed upon by the parties and that if by November 2, 2012 the parties
are unable to reach agreement, then the Court will appoint a new
arbitrator.
Western Digital shares closed at $36.02 on Friday, against a 52-week
range of $22.64 to $45.94. Seagate shares closed at $28.07 on Friday,
against a 52-week range of $11.21 to $35.71.
No comments:
Post a Comment