Technology Sector Review: Rockstar Patent Purchases, Youko Takes Tudou

KEMET Corporation (NYSE:KEM): KEMET (NYSE:KEM) announced it has signed an agreement to acquire a 34% economic interest with a 51% voting interest in NEC TOKIN Corp., or NT, a manufacturer of tantalum capacitors, electro-magnetic, electro-mechanical, access devices and piezoelectric ceramics from NEC Corp. (NIPNF) of Japan. Revenue of NT for the twelve-month period ended March 31, 2011 was approximately $755M. KEMET will pay an initial purchase price of $50M at the closing of this first transaction for a 34% economic interest and a 51% voting interest in NT. KEMET will make a second $50M payment around August 31, 2014 in exchange for an additional economic interest of 15% resulting in an economic ownership of 49% while maintaining 51% of the voting common stock. The value of the third and final payment will depend upon the operating results of NT at the time based on a multiple of six times twelve months trailing EBITDA less the previous payments. The transaction is subject to cutomary closing conditions, including required regulatory filings. The transaction is expected to close in early summer.

The shares closed at $9.35, up $0.53, or 6.01%, on the day. Its market capitalization is $417.56 million.

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR): NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) and First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) announced an agreement for First Solar to construct NRG’s 26 megawatt Avra Valley solar project near Tucson, Ariz. Electricity from the Avra Valley solar project will be sold to Tucson Electric Power under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

The shares closed at $25.83, down $1.66, or 6.04%, on the day. Its market capitalization is $2.23 billion.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT): Rockstar Consortium, made up of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), RIM (NASDAQ:RIMM), Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) and Sony (NYSE:SNE), announced that the U.S. Department of Justice waiting period for review of Rockstar’s $4.5B acquisition of a substantial majority of the former Nortel Networks (NRTLQ) patent portfolio, has expired and the company is free to consummate the acquisition. The portfolio consists of approximately 4,000 patent assets related to a broad array of networking, communications, and internet technologies.

AAPL shares closed at $552.00, up $6.83, or 1.25%, on the day. Its market capitalization is $514.67 billion. MSFT shares closed at $32.04, up $0.05, or 0.16%, on the day. Its market capitalization is $268.84 billion.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC): Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) CEO Paul Otellini, dismissing suggestions that the company missed the significance of the smartphone, says the chip maker is turning its attention to smartphone makers, reports the Wall Street Journal. He announced partnerships with Lenovo, Motorola, ZTE, Orange, and payments processor Visa and Indian operator Lava.

The shares closed at $26.99, down $0.08, or 0.31%, on the day. Its market capitalization is $134.82 billion.

SINA Corporation (NASDAQ:SINA): A number of Chinese Internet stocks are climbing after Chinese Internet video company Youku (NYSE:YOKU) agreed to buy its competitor, Tudou Holdings (NASDAQ:TUDO), for about $39.88 per share in an all-stock transaction. In a note to investors, Piper Jaffray maintained that the deal is positive for Youku, since the transaction eliminates a significant competitor for content acquisition. The firm, which maintains a $27 target and Neutral rating on Youku, notes that the deal makes the company the largest Chinese Internet video provider by a wide margin. In mid-morning trading, Tudou soared $22.97, or 142.76%, to $37.35 and Youku climbed $3.31, or 13.23%, to $28.32. Micoblog operator SINA (NASDAQ:SINA), which has a 9.05% stake in Tudou, is losing 1.06% to $76.58. However, e-commerce company Dangdang (NYSE:DANG) rose 3.86% to $6.72 and online media and Internet game provider Sohu (NASDAQ:SOHU) advanced 3.53% to $51.04.

The shares closed at $74.69, down $2.71, or 3.5%, on the day. Its market capitalization is $4.92 billion.

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To contact the reporter on this story: Stella Mariz at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com