*DJ Rambus Up 10% Ahead Of Antitrust Documents Release >RMBS

05/23/2006
Dow Jones News Services
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05-23-06 1447ET

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=DJ Rambus Up Ahead Of Antitrust Documents Release >RMBS

By Henry Sanderson
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of memory chip designer Rambus Inc. (RMBS) rose 7% Tuesday ahead of the expected release next week of court documents relating to an antitrust case involving major computer memory-chip makers.

When released, analysts said, the documents could be a catalyst for Rambus' stock, bolstering the company's case that rival memory-chip makers acted in collusion against the company's DRAM, or dynamic random access memory chips, in the 1990s. The documents are expected to be released Monday.

"The documents just lets the world know how strong a case Rambus has," PacificAmerican Securities analyst Michael Cohen, who owns shares of Rambus, said.

According to analysts, who have not seen the documents, Rambus officials have indicated that the documents include emails from competitors about an alleged conspiracy against Rambus. WR Hambrecht analyst Daniel Amir said after the documents are released, the competitors may opt to settle and not go to trial, given the attendant publicity risk.

The documents are likely to be released Monday because the judge in the case signed an order on May 9 giving the competitors 20 days to file an appeal to keep them confidential. If there's no appeal, the documents should be unveiled as plan.

The documents also could add further evidence to confirm an ongoing Department of Justice case investigating DRAM-price fixing amongst major chip companies during the period, which already has resulted in guilty pleas from Hynix Semiconductor (000660.SE) and Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE).

Rambus could be entitled to royalties of roughly $797 million per year if correct about DRAM intellectual property rights, he said.

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