Samsung Electronics will pay nearly $900 million over the next 5 years to license technology from Rambus Inc. as part of a settlement ending the companies' long term dispute.

The South Korea technology giant will make an upfront payment of $200 million, and a quarterly payment of about $25 million for the next five years as part of the agreement. It will also invest $200 million in Rambus stock.

The agreement will allow Samsung to license Rambus' patent portfolio, including a perpetual fully paid-up license to certain current DRAM products.

Starting in 2011 the quarterly payment becomes variable and could go up or down based on Samsung's sales, Holt said.

The two companies also signed a memorandum of understanding in connection with a new generation of memory technologies, while Samsung admitted no wrong-doing.

The companies also announced that they will work together on a new generation of memory technologies, initially focusing on graphics and mobile memory solutions.

They said they would also review a potential collaboration on server and high-speed NAND flash memories.

Harold Hughes, Rambus president and CEO, said Rambus employees are very excited about the prospect of working together with Samsung, which he called the world's premier memory technology company.

We have a tremendous opportunity to renew a partnership which has created solutions that have benefited consumers worldwide, Hughes stated.

Rambus has patent infringement litigation against Samsung and other defendants pending trail in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif. Thomas Lavelle, Rambus' general counsel, said Rambus and Samsung would ask the courts to dismiss all complaints the companies have pending against each other. Rambus will proceed with the litigation against Micron and Hynix in San Francisco, Lavelle said.

This agreement does not change our claims against Hynix and Micron in the price-fixing case, Lavelle said. With Samsung being dropped from the case, the case becomes less complicated.

South Korea Electronics Samsung