Broadcom acquires NetLogic for $3.7B

Broadcom agreed to buy NetLogic Microsystems for $3.7 billion in cash, in a bid to capitalize on the world's surging data needs. The acquisition, Broadcom's largest to date, is part of a strategic push into semiconductor chips for advanced networking devices. With NetLogic, Broadcom gains a portfolio of patents and a collection of processors for routers, complementing the company's vast chip business for consumer devices like cellphones and set-top boxes. Broadcom is paying $50 a share, roughly 57 percent more than NetLogic's Friday closing.

Suzuki wants a 'divorce' from Volkswagen

Suzuki Motor announced Monday it would seek to end its two-year-old alliance with Volkswagen, saying no progress had been made on joint projects. It is also asking Volkswagen to sell back its 19.9 percent stake in the Japanese automaker. Volkswagen said, though, that it had no intention of selling its shares in Suzuki, expressing hope it could salvage the partnership through talks. "There are no projects at all underway," Osamu Suzuki, the chairman of Suzuki, said at a news conference in Tokyo, comparing the situation to "getting a divorce."

TechCrunch founder exits AOL

AOL Inc. confirmed that Michael Arrington, founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, no longer works for the company or the popular technology blog. The formal announcement of his departure was made after two weeks of bickering between Arrington and AOL over his role at TechCrunch. Critics had questioned whether Arrington should continue as an editor after being named to head CrunchFund, a $20 million venture capital fund that might invest in companies that TechCrunch writes about. Erick Schonfeld, who was Arrington's co-editor, has been named the editor of TechCrunch.

Patent trolls filing suit to beat new law

U.S. patent-infringement lawsuits against multiple defendants surged as much as tenfold in the past week, targeting companies including PepsiCo Inc. and Apple Inc. ahead of a new law that would make such cases costlier. At least 31 lawsuits with more than one company listed as a defendant were started in the three days through Sept. 9, mostly brought by so-called non-practicing entities, according to an analysis by Craig Smith, a patent lawyer at Lando & Anastasi in Cambridge, Mass. The America Invents Act soon to be signed into law includes a requirement that defendants must have commonality in order to be sued collectively, a move aimed at curbing lawsuits from NPEs that have no operations other than acquiring patents and using them to badger companies into paying royalties.

Mandatory paid sick leave in Seattle

The Seattle City Council agreed to require businesses with at least five employees to provide paid sick leave. San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Connecticut also mandate paid leave for employees to care for themselves or family members when ill. Seattle's ordinance exempts businesses with fewer than five employees and businesses in their first two years of operation. Those with five to 49 employees must provide at least five paid sick days; those with 50 to 249 employees, seven days, and those with more than 250 workers must provide nine paid days off.

FROM NEWS SERVICES