Friday, February 24, 2012

(BN) Broadcom Says SEC Is Probing the Way It Accounts for Litigation Reserves

Bloomberg News, sent from my iPhone.

Broadcom Says SEC Is Investigating Its Accounting Practices

Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Broadcom Corp., a maker of chips that help mobile devices connect to the Internet, said it's under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its accounting practices.

The company received a request for documents from the Los Angeles regional office of the SEC concerning its accounting for litigation-related reserves, Broadcom said today in a regulatory filing. The investigation was probably prompted by allegations from a former employee, Broadcom said.

"In response to these allegations, the company, with oversight from the audit committee of the board of directors, completed an internal review of these allegations with the assistance of independent outside counsel and did not identify any improprieties," Broadcom said in the filing.

The company saw no need to revise its financial statements following its investigation and will cooperate with the SEC's investigation, it said.

Litigation reserves were taken in the first quarter of 2011 related to intellectual-property claims, Broadcom said.

Broadcom, based in Irvine, California, fell as much as 4.2 percent in extended trading after the announcement. The shares, up 25 percent this year, had closed at $36.75 earlier today.

Karen Kahn, a Broadcom spokeswoman, declined to comment beyond the contents of the statement. John Nester, a spokesman for the SEC in Washington, didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ian King in San Francisco at ianking@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net

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Eugene.

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