Note 5 - Investments in and Notes Receivable from Privately Held Companies

6 Months Ended

Aug. 02, 2014

Investment Holdings [Text Block] [Abstract]

Investment Holdings [Text Block]

5.             Investments in and notes receivable from privately held companies

The following table sets forth the value of investments in and notes receivable from privately-held companies (in thousands): 

Equity investments:	August 2, 2014		February 1, 2014
Issuer A	$	2,000	$	2,000
Issuer B		1,000		1,000
Issuer C		129		730
Issuer D		142		143
Total equity investments		3,271		3,873
Notes receivable:
Issuer A		-		230
Total notes receivable		-		230
Total equity investments and notes receivable	$	3,271	$	4,103

Equity investments

During fiscal 2009, we purchased shares of preferred stock in a privately-held venture capital funded technology company (“Issuer A”) at a total investment cost of $1.0 million. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010, we purchased additional shares of preferred stock in Issuer A at a cost of $1.0 million. During the quarter ended August 2, 2014, the remaining balance of the note receivable from Issuer A was fully repaid.

In the third quarter of fiscal 2011, we purchased shares of preferred stock in another privately-held technology company (“Issuer B”) at a total investment cost of $1.0 million.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, we purchased shares of preferred stock in another privately-held technology company (“Issuer C”) at a total investment cost of $1.0 million. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 and the second quarter of fiscal 2015, we recorded impairment charges of $0.3 million and $0.6 million, respectively, on this investment as we concluded the impairment to be other-than-temporary.

In the third quarter of fiscal 2012, we made an equity investment of $0.1 million in a privately-held joint venture (“Issuer D”).

We made the above-described investments because we viewed the issuer as either having strategic technology or a business that would complement our technological capabilities or help create an opportunity for us to sell our chipset solutions. We analyze each investment quarterly for evidence of impairment.

Our President and Chief Executive Officer is a member of the Board of Directors of both our Issuer A and Issuer B investments. In the case of Issuer B, the investment transaction was negotiated without the personal involvement of the executive officer who had a personal interest in the transaction.