US Stock Market Move | Netlist (NLST.US) once rose 18%; Micron (MU.US) paid US$600 million for a five-year patent license and ended litigation.

On Tuesday, Netlist (NLST.US) shares climbed, rising as much as 18% at one point. As of press time, the stock's gain had narrowed to 13%, at $6.37. Earlier, Micron Technology, Inc. (MU.US) agreed to pay $600 million for a five-year license to Netlist's patent portfolio, and the two sides will end all unresolved legal proceedings. Under the agreement, the patents licensed to Micron cover technologies including server DIMMs (dual in-line memory modules) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Micron will pay Netlist $30 million per quarter starting in the fourth quarter of 2026 through the third quarter of 2031. Netlist CEO C.K. Hong said the agreement with Micron further validates the value of the company's AI memory technology. The company will continue to protect its intellectual property while continuing to invest in the development of next-generation products. In addition to the patent license agreement, Netlist also signed a securities purchase agreement and a share lock-up and release agreement with Micron. Under the arrangements, Micron purchased 10 million shares of Netlist for $1 million. The above shares will have their sale and transfer restrictions lifted in stages. Of these, 20% of the shares will be released from restrictions on each of the first, second, third, and fourth anniversaries after issuance, with the remaining shares released from restrictions on the fifth anniversary. The agreement not only brings Netlist $600 million in patent licensing revenue, but also resolves in one stroke all unfinished legal proceedings between the two memory chip companies. Boosted by the news, Netlist's stock price rose as much as 18% in early trading on Tuesday.