Waterloo, Ont.-based BlackBerry Ltd. said Thursday that it’s won a binding arbitration case against Qualcomm Inc. for nearly $815 million and halted its stock (BBRY) from trading on the NASDAQ exchange.
The final award, including interest and lawyer’s fees, will be paid to BlackBerry by the San Diego, Calif.-based component manufacturer after a May 30 hearing. The payment comes after BlackBerry and Qualcomm agreed to enter arbitration on April 20, 2016. The dispute was over Qualcomm’s agreement to cap certain royalties applied to payments BlackBerry made under a licence agreement between the two firms. A binding arbitration hearing held in San Diego from Feb. 27 to March 3 determined the matter.
According to a statement from its top executive in a press release, BlackBerry anticipates its working relationship with Qualcomm won’t be damaged.
“BlackBerry and Qualcomm have a longstanding relationship and continue to be valued technology partners,” said John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO of BlackBerry. “We are pleased the arbitration panel ruled in our favor and look forward to collaborating with Qualcomm in security for ASICs and solutions for the automotive industry.”
Blackberry’s shares were temporarily halted on Wednesday morning in pre-market trading, then resumed at 8:15 AM ET. The shared jumped up more than 10 per cent immediately.
