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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Koligman who wrote (175805)	2/2/2007 4:01:37 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

PC maker hit with class action suit alleging kickbacks from chip maker.... Dell Sued for Intel Deal By Michael Cohn RedHerring.com 02/02/07 Dell is facing yet another challenge after the abrupt exit of CEO Kevin Rollins earlier this week, with reports Friday that the computer maker has been sued for allegedly participating in a kickback scheme with chip maker Intel that put Intel processors inside Dell machines. The Round Rock, Texas-based PC maker is accused of illegally accounting for about $250 million per quarter in “rebate payments” from Intel for including the Santa Clara, California company’s chips inside its computers. The suit was filed by class action lawyer William Lerach, who runs the San Diego-based law firm Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins. Intel, Mr. Lerach, as well as Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) did not immediately respond to requests for comment. “We are continuing our longstanding practice of not commenting on pending litigation,” said Dell spokesperson Dwayne Cox. Intel and AMD have been locked in a fierce battle for market share in the PC industry. Until last year, Intel had an exclusive agreement with Dell to put its chips inside Dell computers, but over the past year Dell has been opening up to AMD chips, first putting them inside high-end servers and more recently in PCs (see Michael Dell Serves up AMD). Mr. Lerach filed the suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Austin, Texas on behalf of two large institutional investors in Dell: Amalgamated Bank’s LongView Funds, a union-backed pension fund, and West Midlands Pension Fund in the United Kingdom. He is seeking class action status for the suit, according to Reuters. The suit also names as defendants Intel, accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, Dell Chairman and CEO Michael Dell, and former Dell CEO Kevin Rollins, whom Mr. Dell replaced Wednesday (see Rollins out at Dell). Shares of Dell fell $0.11 to $23.69 in recent trading, while Intel shares rose $0.08 to $21.19 and AMD shares climbed $0.03 to $15.80. © Red Herring, Inc.