Rambus subject to investigation

Rambus Inc. is delaying its quarterly SEC filing as the company tries to assess the cost of a restatement of its financial results.

In a Thursday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, (SEC) Rambus said it will not make the Aug. 14 deadline for filing its second quarter results. It will miss the deadline because an audit committee looking into irregularities in stock option grants had not completed its review.

Rambus is looking into its filings for 2003 through to the first quarter of 2006 after determining that some executives received improper stock option grants during this period. It expects to record additional "material" expenses when it restates filings for this period, the company said in a statement.

A growing number of Silicon Valley companies, including Apple Computer Inc. and McAfee Inc. have come under scrutiny for the practice of backdating employee stock options to a point when the company's stock was worth less. With backdating, employees pay less for their options and consequently make more money when they cash in.

The backdating scandal has already resulted in criminal charges being brought against two former Brocade Communications Systems Inc. executives. Last month former Brocade Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Gregory Reyes and former Vice President of Human Resources Stephanie Jensen were charged with securities fraud.

The U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation have now formed a joint task force to investigate Silicon Valley companies that may have deliberately backdated option grants.

Rambus had previously warned that it would not make the filing deadline. Last month it said it had expected to report US$48.9 million in revenue for the quarter, up 22 percent from the year-earlier period.

On Thursday, the memory chip designer said it expected to file its Q2 report "as soon as practicable after the completion of the Audit Committee's review," according to the SEC filing.