Google and Yahoo settle disputesPosted 10/08/2004
Search giants Yahoo and Google have announced that they have resolved two disputes that had been pending.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Google will take a license for US Patent No. 6,269,361 and several related patents held by Yahoo subsidiary Overture.
Yahoo has now dismissed its patent lawsuit against Google and the two parties have also resolved a dispute regarding shares issuable to Yahoo under a warrant to purchase Google shares in connection with a 2000 services agreement.
In connection with the settlement Google has issued shares of its Class A common stock to Yahoo. Google increased the number of shares it will offer in its initial public offering (IPO) later this month from 24.6 million to 25.7 million, in order to include the extra shares allotted to Yahoo to pay for a technology license.
As a result of the settlement, Google said it will post a net loss in the quarter to end September, as a result of the non-cash settlement of between $260 million and $290 million.
Internet portal Yahoo will reportedly sell most of its shares from the settlement, leaving it with a 4.1 per cent stake in Google, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Google's eagerly-awaited IPO is being conducted through an auction process and could raise as much as $3.3 billion. © DeHavilland Information Services plc
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