Rovi nearing deal to acquire DVR maker Tivo Inc

[BENGALURU] Rovi Corp, which provides digital entertainment guides, is nearing a deal to acquire digital-video recording maker TiVo Inc, Bloomberg reported citing sources.

Talks have progressed and Rovi may announce a deal as soon as Friday, the report said, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Rovi is expected to pay a premium of about 10 per cent for TiVo, implying a value of about US$1 billion, Bloomberg said, citing the people.

Shares of TiVo closed up 2.1 per cent at US$9.42 on Thursday, giving the company a market capitalisation of about US$922 million.

The two businesses are similar so that a combination is compelling in terms of both revenue and cost synergies, the report said.

TiVo and Rovi were not available to comment outside of regular US business hours.

Rovi postponed a scheduled post-earnings conference call to Friday morning, without providing a reason. The company was scheduled to host the call at 5pm ET (2100 GMT) on Thursday.

REUTERS