Sources inform ''Globes'' that the Tel Aviv District Court today ordered modu receiver Adv. Hanit Nov to hold a new auction for the company's patents. The court accepted the request by Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) for a new auction.
Kingston Technology Corporation of California won the original auction with a bid of $5 million. Google submitted a late bid of $7 million.
Judge Eitan Orenstin dismissed Kingston's objections against the new auction. Kingston withdrew its objections when it became clear that the judge would not accept them.
Orenstin ordered Nov to announce the new auction in both the Israeli and foreign media. He said that he if he had been asked to approve the sale of modu's patents to Kingston on the basis of the previous auction, he would not have do so because the auction was inadequate. Kensington submitted the only bid in that auction.
Orenstin ruled that there was no evidence that Google knew about the previous auction.
He gave Nov 21 days to hold the new auction, which will be open to new bidders. Current bidders for modu's patents are Kingston, Google, Silver River Inc. of the US, and Wi-Lan Inc. (TSX: WIN) of Canada.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 3, 2011
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