INTEL：出来混，总是要还的
作为芯片行业的巨无霸，Intel最终还是老老实实，不管自己对与错，理性选择之下，他还是决定打开钱包，付给对手AMD一笔12.5亿美元的巨款，了结这两个死对头之间多年来没完没了的官司。
AMD所抱怨的无非是：你这位大哥，自己赚钱，也不能太狠，得稍微给我一点生存的机会。你不能老是用你已经获得的关系和人家对你的害怕，来吓唬人家，让大量客户不敢从我这里进货。
既然你那么耍大牌，那么，我就只好向“父母官”，美国的司法系统告你一个“不公平竞争”，反正我自己也活得难受，债台高筑，盈利不佳，而且还时不时亏损。
这个例子，如果放在中国，会是一个什么样的结果？
中国需要让更多的私营企业成长为巨无霸吗？
如果国家继续给予国营企业有形和无形的垄断地位，那么，那些现在还是幼苗的私营企业，又有没有成长的空间和机会？
如果没有，对于中国未来的经济发展，到底是好事还是坏事？
如果中国想将自己打造成一个真正的世界经济强国，那么，它需要大量的真正意义上的私营巨无霸吗？
这许多问题，值得有心人好好思考一下。
【附录】 Intel To Pay $1.25B To AMD, Ends Legal Battles
10:33 AM ET 11/12/09
By Jerry A. DiColo
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Feuding chip rivals Intel Corp. (INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) agreed to settle all of their outstanding legal complaints, with Intel paying AMD $1.25 billion and agreeing to abide by a set of rules for how it conducts its business.
The agreement, which also includes a renewed five-year cross-license agreement, comes as Intel faces an increasing amount of scrutiny from government regulators regarding alleged anticompetitive practices in how it sells chips.
Intel and AMD make nearly all the chips used to run computers and servers, though the much larger Intel controls roughly 80% of the market.
AMD shares surged on the news, rising as much as 26% to a new 52-week high of $6.73. The stock recently traded at $6.50, up 22% on the day. Intel shares gained 0.7% to $19.98, likely reflecting relief over the settlement.
Legal and regulatory battles have increasingly been turning against Intel, and Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies Associates, which tracks the field, said that by settling, Intel may have alleviated some of the pressure regarding the cases brought by others.
"It was only going to get more expensive the farther down the litigation road they went, and this takes a lot of wind out of the sails of the other suits," Kay said.
"Intel may have just reduced its legal tab by a number of billions of dollars."
The settlement was sorely needed for AMD, which has struggled with mounting losses and high debt levels related to its acquisition of graphics chip-maker ATI Technologies. With the lawsuit and other legal disputes now behind it, the company removes a serious investor concern, said Wedbush Morgan analyst Patrick Wang.
"AMDs liquidity issues are going to be taken away," Wang said. "This is something that is going to take away a major overhang for investors."
For years, AMD has complained about Intel's dominance and chip-pricing practices, with a long-awaited antitrust lawsuit set to begin in March. This year, the European Commission levied the largest antitrust fine in its history against Intel for anticompetitive practices. And earlier this month, New York's attorney general filed a lawsuit against Intel alleging the company threatened computer makers and paid huge kickbacks to stop them using competitors' chips.
"We look forward to healthy competition with the mutual respect one would expect between world class competitors," AMD Chief Executive Dirk Meyer said in a conference call to discuss the settlement.
Meyer also thanked regulators for their diligence in trying to create a competitive marketplace.
As part of the patent licensing pact, Meyer said that GlobalFoundries, AMD's joint manufacturing venture, is no longer required to operate as a subsidiary of AMD.
Intel said as a result of the settlement, its fourth-quarter effective tax rate will be about 20%, not the 26% previously expected. The company's other forecasts are unchanged.
