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Samsung, Apple and Google considering bids on InterDigital's patent portfolio

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 7:24PM EST
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Apple, Google and Samsung are examining InterDigital and its 8,800-patent portfolio, and at least one is expected to bid on the company, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. InterDigital is based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania and analysts from Algorithm Capital and Dougherty & Co. said the firm could be worth as much as $5 billion. InterDigital owns patents related to transferring data over wireless networks and its inventions have been used in Android and BlackBerry smartphones as well as the iPhone, Bloomberg said. “The fight between Apple and Samsung is getting serious, so if the assets go to Apple, it could be pretty risky for Samsung,” Shinyoung Securities Co. analyst Lee Seung Woo told Bloomberg. “To hedge the risk, Samsung could go ahead with bidding, although they may have to pay a big premium.” All three companies are beefing up existing patent portfolios as the legal battles between each company heat up. Most recently, Samsung acquired memory maker Grandis and Google purchased 1,000 patents from IBM.

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