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March 19, 2008
Hedgerow
Hedge
fund Riley Investment Management has gotten uppity about
Transmeta giving a $10 million bonus to
John O'Hara Horsley, Transmeta general counsel. Calling the bonus "outrageous,
illegal and unconscionable," Riley filed a lawsuit accusing Horsely, Transmeta
executives, and board members, of gross mismanagement, breach of fiduciary duty,
waste of corporate assets, and abuse of control. When asked, Riley demurred on
saying how it really felt.
Riley holds about 7% of Transmeta stock.
Struggling Transmeta wrestled a $250 million patent settlement from Intel late last year. The fillip tripled the stock price.
Horsley's bonus was reportedly structured like a contingency fee, an unusual way to compensate in-house counsel. Horsley had been paid around $400,000 a year before striking the bonus deal upon suing Intel.
Horsley joined Transmeta in 2000 from the Federal Trade Commission, where he was chief counsel for IP and technology matters. He helped take Transmeta public that year.
Posted by Patent Hawk at March 19, 2008 12:02 AM | Patents In Business