Note 7 - Long-term Investment

9 Months Ended

Jan. 01, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Investment [Text Block]

NOTE 7. LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS

In

July

2001,

Exar became a Limited Partner in the Skypoint Telecom Fund II (US), LP. (“Skypoint Fund”), a venture capital fund focused on investments in communications infrastructure companies. We account for this non-marketable equity investment under the cost method in the other non-current assets in the consolidated balance sheet. The partnership was dissolved and the fund distributed stock of investee companies to Exar during

first

quarter of fiscal year

2015.

We periodically review and determine whether the investment is other-than-temporarily impaired, in which case the investment is written down to its impaired value.

As of the date indicated below, our long-term investments balance, which is included in the other non-current assets line item on the condensed consolidated balance sheets, consisted of the following (in thousands):

	January 1,			March 27,
	2017			2016
Beginning balance	$	389		$	394
Donation of Counterpath shares		(50	)		-
Impairment charges		-			(5	)
Ending balance	$	339		$	389

In

June

2016,

we donated the common shares of Counterpath and recorded the corresponding reduction in long term investment balances. At

January

1,

2017

the ending balance consists of an investment in a privately held company.