Intel and the US government have announced a tentative, last-minute agreement to settle a major monopoly dispute a day before it was scheduled to go to trial.
The world's largest producer of computer microprocessors and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said attorneys for the parties struck a deal over the weekend and submitted a motion to the commission's secretary calling for the case to be withdrawn.
Intel spokesman Mr Thomas Waldrop said terms of the accord would not be released until after it had been approved by the full FTC, a decision expected in the next two weeks.
With an endorsement from the five-member commission, there will be a 60-day period of public comment before the agreement is enacted, he said.
Mr William Baer, head of the FTC's competition bureau, said the tentative settlement would resolve the allegations brought by the FTC in a complaint filed against the company last June.
But he added that "there are remaining issues under investigation by the commission".
"The commission's staff is committed to working expeditiously to resolve these concerns."
In a statement released at company headquarters in Santa Clara, California, Intel's president, Mr Craig Barrett, expressed satisfaction with the accord.
"We view this compromise agreement as a win-win for both parties and we are satisfied that the agreement gives us value for our intellectual property rights," said Mr Barrett.
"This is acceptable to both parties and was the result of constructive dialogue between Intel and the FTC."
