DVR pioneer TiVo is engaged in advanced talks with Rovi, setting itself to be sold to the digital entertainment guide.
It's estimated that shareholders of TiVo would own about 30 percent in total of the combined companies, should the merger proceed.
The news of the consolidation of the two companies comes from the New York Times, and according to people close to the matter, the deal will involve a mix of stock and cash. However, the exact price has yet to be finalized.
For the record, TiVo has a market value of $750 million, where shares shot up by 22.8 percent to $9.41. On the other hand, the shares of Rovi dropped by 2.1 percent to $20.51.
Spokespeople from both TiVo and Rovi declined to comment about the development.
TiVo is arguably more well-known compared with Rivo, and as a testament to that, past interested buyers are said to have been Apple, Google and Microsoft.
The seemingly agreeable nature of TiVo is said to stem from the fact that the company is currently looking for a new CEO, which is believed to be what urged Rovi and activist investor of Engaged Capital Glenn Welling to push the purchase.
Former CEO of TiVo Tom Rogers bowed out of the company back in January, and assumed the position of a non-executive chairman. CFO Naveen Chopra stood in as the interim CEO.
It's also worth mentioning that TiVo set-top boxes are popular because they give users access to some of the most prominent online video providers today, including Hulu, Netflix and YouTube.
The name TiVo has been used as a verb that means to record a TV program with a DVR, all thanks to the company's popular set-top box. However, it soon faced a stiff competition when cable and satellite TV providers started to include DVR functions to their services and when the likes of Hulu and Netflix emerged. In other words, customers' interest in buying a TiVo as an independent device started to dwindle.
To put two and two together, the search for a CEO and the difficult circumstances may have caused the deal to come to light.
