Seiko Epson Announces $80 Million Settlement With Nokia: Marks An Extraordinary Loss for Epson

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@theunlockr

Monday, December 26th, 2011

Seiko Epson broke the news today that it has agreed to settle with Finnish handset manufacturer Nokia for the sum of $80 million USD after nearly two years of litigation. The two companies have been locked in a bitter antitrust lawsuit over Epson’s purchase of liquid crystal displays in 2009. Epson has regrettably admitted that the $80 million dollar settlement will result in an “extraordinary loss” for their Q3 earnings. Nokia has yet to release a celebratory statement, but continue reading below for the full Seiko Epson press release.

Settlement of Lawsuit and Announcement of Extraordinary LossSeiko Epson Corporation (“Epson,” TSE: 6724) today announced that it has agreed to settle for US$80 million civil lawsuits filed against it in the United States and United Kingdom by Nokia Corporation of Finland and its subsidiaries (“Nokia”) seeking damages stemming from purchases of liquid crystal displays.
1. Timeline

In November 2009, Nokia filed lawsuits in the United States and United Kingdom against Epson and its subsidiary companies including Epson Imaging Devices Corporation alleging violations of antitrust and competition laws. Epson has denied liability and vigorously defended the lawsuits. Because of the ongoing impacts of the lawsuits on its business and the expense of continuing litigation, however, the company has determined that settlement of the litigation is in Epson’s best interests.2. Details of settlementEpson will pay Nokia the sum of US$80 million in full settlement of Nokia’s claims, and Nokia will discontinue all related lawsuits filed against Epson and its global affiliates.
3. Impact on business results

Epson will, because of this settlement, post an extraordinary loss in its business results for the third quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2012. However, after evaluating factors such as recent business trends and prospects for extraordinary profits and losses going forward, Epson has decided to stand by its full-year forecast announced on November 14.