HTC to acquire S3 Graphics

HTC is set to purchase S3 Graphics from Via for $300M. With the acquisition HTC will obtain S3 Graphics’ portfolio of patents and pending applications however “HTC will provide a perpetual license of the S3 patents to Via,” according to HTC CFO Winston Yung. S3 received a favorable patent ruling on July 1, 2011 which might have served as a catalyst for the HTC move. HTC enjoyed record revenue of $1.55B in June and is looking to unseat RIM as the world’s no.4 Smartphone provider.