By Kim Yoo-chul
SK hynix, the world's second-biggest memory chip producer, said Friday that it has reached a settlement with Toshiba over criminal lawsuits initially brought by the Japanese electronics firm.
"SK hynix has agreed with Toshiba to settle all outstanding claims, including the suit filed last March by Toshiba against SK hynix that alleged misappropriation of trade secrets following the arrest of a former SK hynix employee on suspicion of illegally taking trade secrets," the Icheon, South Korea-based chipmaker said in a statement.
SK hynix, the most crucial cash-cow in SK Group, said its payment to the Japanese chip manufacturer is $278 million.
Toshiba had sought $1.08 billion in damages in a lawsuit filed over the suspected leak of flash-type memory chip technology.
The agreement is expected to push SanDisk of the United States, Toshiba's U.S. partner, to make a similar settlement with the Korean chipmaker, said market analysts.
SanDisk also filed a separate civil lawsuit against the SK affiliate, seeking damages over the alleged theft of data related to their advanced NAND flash technologies used in tablets and smartphones.
Friday's agreement with Toshiba, the world's No. 2 NAND flash chip supplier, calls for SK hynix to extend the period of their cross-licensing and product supply agreements.
Toshiba buys DRAM chips from SK hynix and the two companies have been in partnership since 2007 developing next-generation chips such as STT-MRAMs.
"SK hynix will further focus on its technology competitiveness by putting its legal disputes behind it and expanding its collaboration with Toshiba," said SK hynix.