By Sam Nussey and Miho Uranaka
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan chip materials maker JSR said on Monday that a lawsuit brought against the company by a research foundation in the United States would not impact its plan to be bought by a state-backed fund.
"We have no reason to believe this is going to impact the TOB," JSR CEO Eric Johnson told an earnings briefing, referring to a takeover bid from Japan Investment Corporation (JIC).
JSR has said it expects JIC's tender offer for its shares to begin late this month at the earliest.
The Research Foundation for the State University of New York's lawsuit says its researchers made advances in tin oxide metal photoresists and Inpria was commercialising its intellectual property without permission.
JSR, which is a major maker of photoresists for chipmaking, last June agreed to be bought by JIC, which is overseen by Japan's trade ministry, in a move criticised by some in the industry who question the need for such an intervention.
Last month, the Financial Times reported that a takeover bid from German group Merck, which was not disclosed to shareholders, prompted JSR to seek a buyout from JIC. "We received no other offers besides the offer from JICC, no formal offers, no informal offers," Johnson said.