Former Oracle board member dogged by links to China-backed chip deal

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK: As the ultimate corporate insiders, board members are presented with plenty of opportunities to cash in on their sector knowledge and connections.

The case of Ray Bingham, until recently Oracle Corp’s secondhighest paid board member and executive chairman at US chip maker Cypress Semiconductor Corp, shows how taking advantage of those breaks can backfire.

The 71-year old technology veteran helped set up a private equity fund backed by China’s central government last fall. In November, the fund agreed to buy Lattice Semiconductor Corp , another US chip manufacturer, for US$1.3 billion – a potentially lucrative coup for Bingham.

But the chip deal is in doubt over US national security concerns. On Monday, Lattice and the buyout fund, Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, said they submitted the deal for review for the third time to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The deal has also cost Bingham personally. His connection to Canyon Bridge has forced Bingham, recipient of a 2009 Financial Times ‘Outstanding Director’ accolade, to relinquish two marquee board seats in the technology sector because of divergent perceptions of whether he faced conflicts of interest in his various roles.

On Sunday, Bingham resigned from Cypress’ board of directors after the company’s founder and sixth-largest shareholder – TJ Rodgers – sued the Cypress board and launched a proxy contest to remove Bingham from the board. — Reuters