Wi-LAN is becoming a key player in patent monetization, says Byron's Astle

Byron Capital analyst Tom Astle says the patents acquired by Wi-LAN from Siemans AG today are in an area Wi-LAN knows well and therefore may be quickly assertable.

Wi-LAN (TSX:WIN) today announced it had acquired a portfolio of forty patents from Siemens AG. The company says the patents are related to telecommunication network management and mobile multimedia, specifically features “covered in the 3GPP global mobile broadband standards and those of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute.”

In a press release issued this morning, Wi-LAN’s Tyler Burns said that while the the terms of the agreement are confidential, management can confirm that it does not consider the purchase amount to be material relative to its current cash position.

Byron Capital analyst Tom Astle says the patents acquired today from Siemens are in an area that Wi-LAN knows well and therefore may be quickly assertable. He says the deal is further proof that Wi-LAN is is becoming a key player in the growing patent monetization sector. In a research update to clients today, Astle reiterated his BUY rating and $7 target on the stock.

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This story is brought to you by Zecotek Photonics (TSXV:ZMS). As of November 16, 2011, Zecotek owned title to or controlled more than 55 patents and applications. Click here to learn more.

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Under the watch of CEO Jim Skippen, Wi-LAN’s revenue has climbed from just over $2 million in fiscal 2006 to the more than $100 million in fiscal 2011. The Ottawa-based company has quietly become one of the world’s top patent acquirers, on par or better than Apple, Google and Samsung in the third quarter of 2011. Wi-LAN was founded in 1992, commercializing a range of communications and consumer electronics products including routers, 3G handsets and WiMAX base stations. The Company now has more than three-thousand patents, and has already licensed their technologies to blue chip techs such as Cisco, Nokia, Panasonic, Samsung.

Astle points out that this the first transaction with Siemens, which owns approximately 58,000 patents. The Byron analyst says he believes the relationship could grow into a very important one for both companies.

Shares of Wi-LAN on the TSX closed today up 3.1% to $5.04

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