AMD: DOJ won't file charges over ATI's strategies

IDG News Service — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:10:47 -0700

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) won't file criminal charges over the pricing and marketing strategies of graphics chipmaker ATI Technologies, now owned by Advanced Micro Devices, the company said Monday.

The DOJ told AMD on Friday the entire investigation is closed, said Michael Silverman, AMD spokesman.

The DOJ subpoenaed vendors AMD and Nvidia in late 2006 as part of an antitrust investigation into the market for graphics processors and graphics cards. The investigation came a month after AMD finished its acquisition of ATI for US$5.4 billion.

The news is good for AMD, which has struggled financially in part due to its acquisition of ATI.

In July, AMD said it would take a charge in its second quarter of 2008 for $880 million related to ATI's former business units. The charges were related to impaired assets in ATI's former handheld and digital TV business units, which were merged into AMD's consumer electronics group after the acquisition.

AMD is due to report results for its third quarter of 2008 on Thursday after markets close.