UPDATE: TiVo's plans to split up its product and IP licensing businesses have been scrapped as the company has announced a $3 billion merger with Xperi.
SAN JOSE, Calif.—A unanimous vote by the TiVo Board has approved the separation of the company’s product and IP licensing businesses into two independent entities.
“Operating independently, these two businesses will have increased flexibility to pursue new and growing market opportunities,” said Raghu Rau, interim president and CEO of TiVo. “We believe this separation is the best way to maximize shareholder value, while also enhancing the possibility of value-creating strategic transactions.”
The products business will consist of the platform solutions and software and services businesses and will spin it out to shareholders. The licensing business will consist of Rovi and TiVo patent portfolios, which consists of 5,500 issued patents and pending applications worldwide, per TiVo.
TiVo expects that it will be able to finalize the split in the first half of 2020. Full management teams and boards of both companies will be named in the months leading up to their launch. The separation will still be subject to customary closing conditions.
The announcement came prior to TiVo announcing its first quarter earnings report. In that report, IP licensing generated $295 million in Q1, while product sales made earned $401 million. Overall, TiVo reported a first quarter net loss of $26.1 million.
