SiliconBeat

Sirf Technology Holdings, the troubled supplier of chips and software used in global position systems  that agreed in February to be acquired by CSR, a British supplier of Bluetooth connectivity tools, reached a tentative settlement last week with various parties that filed lawsuits related to the merger.

The plaintiffs had accused the company’s board of directors of violating its fiduciary duties to Sirf’s shareholders by approving the merger in light of its “temporarily low stock price,” claiming that the amount of the deal was less than the book-value of the company.

According to a so-called memorandum of understanding, the plaintiffs have agreed that the actions will be dismissed with prejudice against all defendants, and SiRF has agreed to make certain disclosures relating to the merger requested by the plaintiffs. SiRF will also (of course) pony up to pay the plaintiff’s attorneys fees, which are not to exceed $385,000.

Although Sirf and the other defendants to the Actions denied and continue to deny the substantive allegations made in the Actions, Sirf agreed to settle the Actions in order to avoid costly litigation and eliminate the risk of any delay to the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement.

In addition, the proposed settlement provides that Sirf will pay (of course) the plaintiffs’ attorneys fees and expenses, as awarded by the court, in an amount not to exceed $385,000 (three hundred eighty-five thousand dollars).