Rovi is to buy TiVo in a $1.1 billion deal that creates a $3 billion company under the TiVo name.
The new company will be led by Rovi’s Tom Carson – TiVo has been under the guidance of interim CEO Naveen Chopra since the departure of Tom Rodgers in January. The news about TiVo being in advanced negotiations to be sold to Rovi, was reported late March.
Famed for its litigation against those companies it believes to be in breach of the Rovi patent portfolio, it comes as no surprise that its 6,000 issued and pending patents should be mentioned within the first few lines of its announcement.
Virgin Media, the Liberty Global owned company that has successfully defended almost a dozen patent claims against Rovi is also one of Tivo’s biggest customers.
“Rovi’s acquisition of TiVo, with its innovative products, talented team, and substantial intellectual property portfolio, strengthens Rovi’s position as a global leader in media discovery, metadata, analytics, and IP licensing,” said Tom Carson, CEO of Rovi.
“It’s an exciting time as the media and entertainment landscape undergoes a significant evolution. The combined capabilities of TiVo and Rovi place us in a tremendous position to extend services across platforms and to a customer base that includes traditional, over-the-top and emerging players across the globe. By working together, Rovi and TiVo will revolutionize how consumers experience media and entertainment and at the same time build value for our stockholders.”
“We’re proud of TiVo’s strong innovation history and of the ongoing efforts of our team to provide best-in-class products for our loyal consumer and service provider customers,” added Naveen Chopra, Interim CEO and CFO of TiVo.
“This transaction is the culmination of those efforts and the logical next step for TiVo. In joining forces with Rovi, our customers, employees and stockholders will benefit from being part of a more diversified industry leader with significantly greater market opportunities. Our combination creates a more influential global player with a commitment to product innovation, which will be incredibly well positioned to redefine television.”
