The Activist Investor Dan Loeb Enters The Chip Wars – The New York Times

A different kind of battle for Third PointA small computer chip design company, R2 Semiconductor, has been notching wins in a potentially big patent fight against Intel over the past few months — a dispute that could force Intel to stop selling several chip lines in Europe.Behind R2’s legal war is one of the biggest names in hedge funds, DealBook is first

to report: Dan Loeb’s activist hedge fund Third Point, the company’s majority owner, is bankrolling the lawsuits, including two new ones against Amazon Web Services and Fujitsu that haven’t been previously reported.The context: R2 sued Intel, as well as two customers, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Dell, in Germany, alleging that the chipmaker had infringed on a patent dealing with voltage regulation in semiconductors. (Intel is indemnifying H.P.E. and Dell.)A regional court in February issued injunctions against the sale of at least some Intel chips. And on March 8, a higher court rejected Intel’s effort to halt the decision. Meanwhile, a trial in Britain over the patent is set to begin next month.