Rambus (RMBS)

[lizvestor]

AP
Rambus Shares Decline on Internal Probe
Wednesday May 31, 9:21 am ET
Rambus Shares Fall After Company Says It Will Investigate Stock-Option Grants

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Rambus Inc., which licenses computer memory technology, dropped in premarket trading Wednesday after it became the latest company to launch an inquiry into its timing of stock-option grants.

After market close on Tuesday, the company said it launched an internal investigation into the timing of stock-option grants in 2003 and before.

Rambus is one of a growing number of companies that are investigating whether company executives backdated grants, which increases the value of stock options. The government is also investigating a number of companies.

Rambus said its investigation will be assisted by outside legal and accounting experts.

The news is a blow to the Los Altos, Calif-based company, which recently received a positive verdict from a long-running patent-infringement lawsuit against South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc., with a jury award of $306.5 million in damages. The suit was originally filed in August 2000.

Rambus shares declined 90 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $24.94 during premarket electronic trading on INET. The stock closed on Tuesday at $25.84 on the Nasdaq.