Jonathan Ratner | April 10, 2014 | Last Updated: Apr 10 9:34 AM ET

A ruling in favour of Wi-Lan Inc. in its CDMA/WiFi patent case against Apple Inc. may not do much for the stock in the near term, but at least one analyst thinks it increases the company’s attractiveness to a buyer.

Ottawa-based Wi-Lan on Wednesday announced that a U.S. district court judge ruled that several claims within its ’802 patent were found to be improperly invalidated by the jury.

“While the judge denied other aspects of Wi-LAN’s motion for judgment, we believe that the judge’s ruling overall is a net positive as it strengthens Wi-LAN’s position in a potential appeal,” Eyal Ofir, an analyst at Clarus Securities, told clients.

He expects Wi-Lan to issue a formal appeal in the Apple case within the next 30 days.

Mr. Ofir pointed out that while a formal appeal process could take three to six months before even knowing if it will be heard, the possibility of a stronger position against Apple can provide additional option value in a strategic review.

“Hence, while we do not believe that the shares will be materially higher on this announcement, it increases the probability of a bidder emerging and/or the potential value extracted in a sale process,” Mr. Ofir said, reiterating his speculative buy rating on Wi-LAN and $5 price target.

http://business.financialpost.com/2014/04/10/wi-lan-ruling-in-apple-case-may-boost-takeover-prospects/