HTC's general counsel, Grace Lei reportedly announced company's plans to acquire S3 Graphics during the company's annual shareholders' general meeting.
"We think S3's patent portfolio is valid and strong, and we have decided to complete the purchase of S3 after cautious assessment," she said.
S3 currently owns around 270 patents, some of which are licensed out to other companies such as Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony. The acquisition will give HTC control over those patents, which will better its position in its patent-based lawsuits, specifically those with Apple.
HTC had originally planned to purchase S3 Graphics for $300 million in July 2011, however, the company decided to reevaluate the purchase after losing a patent-infringement case against Apple later that year.
In that suit a judge handed down a limited exclusion order for two of Apple's 10 claims against the company preventing it from selling devices in the U.S. that infringe on those claims. That exclusion order officially went into effect in April of this year.
Recently two HTC phones, the One X and EVO 4G LTE, were delayed in U.S. Customs due to a “review of shipments that is required after an ITC exclusion order.” The review requires phones to be inspected to ensure they are not in violation of the order.