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Technology Stocks : Altera -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cary Salsberg who wrote (2350)	5/8/2006 6:33:12 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 2389

Altera to Review Historical Option Practices Monday May 8, 6:21 pm ET SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 2006--Altera Corporation (Nasdaq:ALTR - News) today announced that, as a result of management's recent review of the company's stock option practices, and issues concerning options granted during the period 1996 through 2000, the company's board of directors has established a special committee of independent directors to review the company's historical stock option practices and related accounting. The special committee will be assisted by independent legal counsel and outside accounting experts. Management initiated its review following recent media reports regarding stock option practices at other companies. Although the impact to the company's historical financial statements is not yet known, the company does not expect the review to result in material changes to its historical revenues or non-option related operating expenses. In light of this review, the company will not be able to file its Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 2006, which is due on May 10, 2006. The company is not seeking a five-day extension to file its Form 10-Q because it does not believe it can complete its review by the end of the allowed extension period. Altera does not anticipate that these developments will change the timing of its second quarter business update, currently scheduled for release after the market closes on May 30, 2006. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning Altera's review of its historical options practices. There can be no assurance concerning the outcome of this review. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements in this release also involve risks discussed in the company's Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 14, 2006. Copies of Altera's SEC filings are posted on the company's web site and are available from the company without charge. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release, and, except as required by law, the company does not undertake an obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances. About Altera Altera's programmable solutions enable system and semiconductor companies to rapidly and cost-effectively innovate differentiate, and win in their markets. Find out more at altera.com. Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, the stylized Altera logo, specific device designations and all other words that are identified as trademarks and/or service marks are, unless noted otherwise, the trademarks and service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other product or service names are the property of their respective holder. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Altera Corporation

To: Cary Salsberg who wrote (2350)	5/18/2006 7:58:18 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 2389

Altera could face delisting; Brooks note holders want cash Dylan McGrath EE Times (05/17/2006 7:54 PM EDT) SAN FRANCISCO — The controversy over historical stock options granting practices at two electronics companies heated up Wednesday (May 17), with programmable logic supplier Altera Corp. saying its stock could be delisted from the Nasdaq market and fab automation provider Brooks Automation Inc. saying it could be compelled to repay some subordinated notes earlier than expected. Altera (San Jose, Calif.) said it has received notice from Nasdaq that the company's stock could face delisting for not filing its most recent quarterly report in a timely manner. Altera said earlier this month that it would delay the filing of its most recent quarterly report pending the outcome of an investigation by a special committee of independent directors to review the company's historical stock options granting practices from 1996 to 2000. The investigation is ongoing. Altera is one of about a dozen companies, many of them in electronics, to publicly announce that it would examine historical stock options granting practices in the wake of a March 18 article in the Wall Street Journal that questioned whether some companies had been "backdating" stock option grants to result in their issuance at the best possible time. Altera, however, has not specifically said its potential stock options granting issues pertain to the practice of backdating. Brooks has also been reviewing its own historical stock options granting practices in the wake of the Journal story. The company said last week that it faces possible Nasdaq delisting for failing to file its most recent report in a timely manner and that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was conducting an informal inquiry into its historical stock options granting practices. Brooks has said it would re-state its quarterly results for 28 consecutive quarters from fiscal 1999 through fiscal 2005. Brooks said Wednesday that holders of some outstanding convertible subordinated notes due in 2008 have notified the company that its failure to file its quarterly report in a timely manner represents a breach of the company's obligations under the indenture governing the notes. If Brooks fails to file the report within 60 days, the holders of the notes could demand payment sooner, Brooks (Chelmsford, Mass.) said. Brooks said that, as of March 31, it held approximately $373 million of cash and marketable securities. The notes currently have an aggregate outstanding principal value of $175 million, the company said. Brooks said it believes that if the company is required to repay the notes it would still have adequate funds to cover its working capital and capital expenditure requirements for both the short and long term. Altera said it would request a hearing to avoid stock delisting by the Nasdaq, but that there can be no assurance that a panel will grant the company's request for continued listing. Altera will remain listed pending the outcome of the hearing, which is not yet scheduled. Vitesse Semiconductor Corp., another of the electronics companies that has been caught up in questions about historical stock options granting practices, said Wednesday that it has terminated three previously suspended executives, including the company's CEO. Vitesse (Camarillo, Calif.) said it has also expanded its investigation over its business practices.

To: Cary Salsberg who wrote (2350)	5/30/2006 5:20:16 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 2389

Altera sees costs up on stock option review Tue May 30, 2006 4:32 PM ET LOS ANGELES, May 30 (Reuters) - Altera Corp. (ALTR.O: Quote, Profile, Research), a maker of programmable microchips, said it expects up to several million dollars of additional expenses in the second quarter, due to its review of stock option granting practices and related accounting. The company, which also reaffirmed its forecast sales growth of 7 percent to 10 from the prior quarter, said earlier this month that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an inquiry related to stock option practices. The company said the notice of the inquiry from SEC staff followed its notifying the agency of a review by its board of directors of its historical stock option practices and related accounting. Altera also said it received a subpoena from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California relating to the granting of stock options. It said it is cooperating with both agencies.

To: Cary Salsberg who wrote (2350)	6/22/2006 1:28:35 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 2389

Altera to restate 10 years of earnings Dylan McGrath EE Times (06/21/2006 6:48 PM EDT) SAN FRANCISCO — Programmable logic supplier Altera Corp. said Wednesday (June 21) it will likely restate its financial earnings for 40 consecutive quarters for the fiscal years 1996 through 2005 following a preliminary conclusion in its ongoing investigation into the company's historical stock options granting practices. Altera (San Jose, Calif.) said through a prepared statement that it expects to restate the earnings "to correct errors related to accounting for stock-based compensation expense." In May, Altera's board of directors established a special committee to review the company's historical stock option practices and related accounting for the years 1996 through 2000. Altera said Wednesday that the special committee's investigation, which is being assisted by independent legal counsel and outside accounting experts, is not complete and that no final conclusions have been reached. But the committee has reached a preliminary conclusion that the actual measurement dates for certain stock option grants issued between 1996 and 2000 differ from the recorded grant dates for such awards, Altera said. As a result, the company said it expects to record additional non-cash charges for stock-based compensation expense in prior periods. Altera said it believes that these charges are material and, accordingly, expects to restate its financial statements for the fiscal years ended 1996 through 2005. The company said it has not yet determined the tax impact that may result from this matter, but that it currently does not anticipate that the restatement will result in a material charge to fiscal year 2005. Altera is one of more than two dozen companies that has been implicated over the past several weeks in a controversy over historical stock options granting practices. At issue in most of these cases has been the practice of manipulating a stock option's strike date by retroactively backdating it to a time when a company's stock value was relatively low, thus increasing the potential for profit. Most of the implicated companies have seen their stock values drop, and many, including Altera, are facing investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney's Office, as well as shareholder lawsuits. Several other companies have already disclosed that they will have to restate some historical financial earnings, notably fab gear maker Brooks Automation Inc., which said May 11 it plans to restate earnings for 28 consecutive quarters from fiscal 1999 through 2005. Because the special committee's review is still ongoing, Altera said, there may be additional years subject to restatement and the impact to fiscal year 2005 may be different than presently anticipated. Altera intends to file its restated financial statements and its quarterly report for the period ended March 31, 2006, as soon as practicable after the completion of the special committee's investigation, the company said. Altera said its audit committee, after consultation with management and the special committee, determined that the company's financial statements and any related reports of its independent registered public accounting firm for 1996 through 2005 should no longer be relied upon. Altera said it is also evaluating management's report on internal controls over financial reporting set forth in the company's annual report for fiscal 2005 and determined that the company likely had a "material weakness in internal control over financial reporting as of December 30, 2005." Any stock-based compensation charges incurred as a result of the restatement would decrease net income or increase net loss for the periods in question, Altera said. The company does not expect that the anticipated restatement will have any impact on its historical revenues, it said. Altera said it expects to announce second quarter revenue results and third quarter revenue guidance on July 24. The company will not announce additional financial results for the second quarter until the special committee has completed its investigation and the company has filed its restated financial statements and its quarterly report for the period ended March 31, it said. Altera's stock has shed more than 17 percent of its value since its May 8 disclosure. Alter closed at $17.83 Wednesday, prior to the announcement of the likely restatement.

To: Cary Salsberg who wrote (2350)	6/26/2006 1:31:05 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 2389

Altera Backpedals on Backdating Monday June 26, 1:21 pm ET By Rich Duprey In a classic understatement, programmable-chip-maker Altera (Nasdaq: ALTR - News) said it would have to restate 10 years of financial statements because it improperly accounted for stock-based compensation costs due to backdating. According to the company, the restatements meant that it likely had a material weakness in its controls over financial reporting. Gee, you think? In stock option backdating, a company unethically enriches its executives by changing the date at which their stock options were issued, maximizing the increase between their issue price and the stock's current price. It's apparently not illegal to do so, though both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department are investigating dozens of companies. More than 50 companies have announced investigations into possible backdating of their executives' stock options, including Comverse Technology (Nasdaq: CMVT - News), Brocade Communications (Nasdaq: BRCD - News), and Vitesse Semiconductor (Nasdaq: VTSS - News). Silicon Valley companies seem to be most under the gun, considering the sizable role stock options played in their compensation practices. However, Home Depot (NYSE: HD - News) is the largest company thus far to acknowledge that it has an options backdating problem. The public relations smear splashing across corporate America is prompting many companies to investigate their own stock options granting procedures and publicize the results. They've wisely realized that it's better to air your own dirty laundry than let the SEC or Justice do it for you. Altera found its options problem through its own internal investigation, and its unprecedented 10 years' worth of restatements shows how insidious and far-reaching the backdating problem is. While Altera says the backdating issue only occurred between 1996 and 2000, the different time periods over which options vest will require the company to rewrite a whole decade's worth of financial statements. With the 2002 enactment of Sarbanes-Oxley, Congress passed regulations meant to improve corporate transparency, with somewhat mixed results. Prior to Sarbanes-Oxley, executives had up to 45 days to file their Form 4's, which show a change in beneficial ownership of a stock. So when options were granted back then, executives and their boards had plenty of time to fiddle with the dates that would actually show up. After the passage of SOX, companies had only two days to notify the SEC, and that essentially put an end to the issue. Although Altera says the rewritten financial statements will only involve non-cash charges, it's essentially admitting that the financials it asked investors to rely upon for the past decade were fictional. I like a good story just as much as anyone -- but not from a company that wants my investment dollars.