Rovi agrees US$1.1bn TiVo buyout

Rovi Corporation has agreed to buy TiVo in a cash and stock deal worth roughly US$1.1 billion (€961 million).

Rovi CEO Tom Carson will lead the combined firm, which will “adopt the iconic TiVo brand” as the new company name.

Announcing the deal, Rovi said that the combining the two companies would provide them with complementary products, services, and intellectual property.

Carson said that the TiVo deal “strengthens Rovi’s position as a global leader in media discovery, metadata, analytics, and IP licensing” with the arrangement coming at a time of “significant evolution” in the entertainment landscape.

“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,” said Carson.

“By working together, Rovi and TiVo will revolutionise how consumers experience media and entertainment and at the same time build value for our stockholders.”

TiVo’s interim CEO and CFO Naveen Chopra described the deal as the “logical next step for TiVo” and said that the combined company will be a “more influential global player” that is “incredibly well positioned to redefine television”.

“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,” he said.

The deal, which was first rumoured to be under discussion last month, will combine TiVo’s experience in traditional TV, OTT and on-demand UX and content discovery with Rovi’s strength in guides, personalisation, advertising, analytics and cloud services.

The combined company is expected to make more than US$800 million in revenue this year after purchase accounting adjustments, and achieve at least US$100 million in annual savings – 65% of which will come in the first 12 months.

The all-new TiVo will serve nearly 500 service providers across countries, adding Rovi’s current base of approximately 18 million households using Rovi guides to the more than 10 million TiVo-served households.

The expanded company will also have a combined IP portfolio of more than 6,000 issued patents and pending applications.

The firms said they expect to close the deal in the third quarter of this year after obtaining requisite clearances.