SiRF Settles Centrality Deal Stock Suit For $2.9M

SiRF Settles Centrality Deal Stock Suit For $2.9M - 7/28/2009

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2009 News and Press Releases

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News	News 2009
HEADLINES \| SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS \| COURT FILINGS LINKS TO OTHER NEWS \| NEWS ARCHIVE	HEADLINES ARCHIVED SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS ARCHIVED

SETTLEMENT NEWS:

SiRF Settles Centrality Deal Stock Suit For $2.9M
Evan Weinberger

Securities Law 360. July 28, 2009
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EXCERPT: A class of shareholders has asked a federal judge to approve a $2.9 million settlement with SiRF Technology Holdings Inc. in a suit stemming from steep stock losses following SiRF's acquisition of Centrality Communications Inc. In a motion filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the plaintiffs in the case asked Judge Maxine H. Chesney to provide preliminary approval of the deal as well as of a settlement class in the case. A hearing on the settlement is scheduled for Aug. 7. The class action was originally launched against SiRF in February 2008, and the Police and Fire Retirement System of the City of Detroit was named the lead plaintiff in the case that May. Kirby McInerney LLP is the lead counsel in the case. The class covers all those who purchased SiRF stock between June 21, 2007, and March 25, 2008. According to an amended complaint filed last May in the case, San Jose, Calif.-based GPS component maker SiRF announced a $283 million deal to acquire rival GPS manufacturer Centrality in June 2007. SiRF stock jumped at news of the acquisition, which closed in August of that year, the complaint said. When announcing the acquisition, SiRF said Centrality's customer base would complement SiRF's existing customers, not overlap with them, the complaint said. The combination of the two companies, SiRF claimed according to the amended complaint, would prevent customers from switching to Centrality's products. Plaintiffs claim that SiRF should have known that the sales of Centrality products would “cannibalize” SiRF's sales and that changing Centrality's technology into SiRF's product line would require a significant upgrade and decimate Centrality's profit margins, according to an amended complaint filed in May 2008.

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