Pendrell Corp., the Kirkland patent holding firm led by former executives of Clearwire, said it was disappointed after the Court of Appeal of the State of California overturned a 2008 verdict involving its ICO Global Communications unit and The Boeing Co. In 2008, ICO was awarded $603 million after a jury found that Boeing’s subsidiaries had committed fraud and breach of contract and had interfered with ICO’s contracts related to a $2 billion construction and launch agreement related to a satellite communications network.
“We are clearly disappointed with the court’s decision and we are evaluating our options for further review,” said Pendrell CEO Ben Wolff in a statement.
Since the litigation, Pendrell has transformed itself into a patent holding firm, announcing earlier this month that it had acquired more than 1,300 patents related to wireless handsets, video streaming, security and e-commerce software. Craig McCaw’s investment arm, Eagle River, holds 65 percent of the voting stock of Pendrell.
Publicly traded under the ticker symbol PCO, Pendrell is down more than 45 percent on the news today. It is now trading at $1.16, with a market value of about $450 million.
