TiVo in talks to be bought by Rovi: NYT

A Tivo Bolt is displayed during the 2016 CES trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada January 7, 2016.

Reuters/Steve Marcus

Set-top box maker TiVo is in advanced talks to sell itself to digital entertainment guide provider Rovi Corp, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing people briefed on the talks.

Shares of TiVo, which had a market value of about $750 million as of Wednesday’s close, jumped as much as 22.8 percent to $9.41, while Rovi’s fell as much as 2.1 percent to $20.51 in early trading.

TiVo shareholders would receive a combination of cash and stock, but the exact price has not been determined, the newspaper said. (nyti.ms/22HQxN6)

TiVo and Rovi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

TiVo shareholders would likely own about 30 percent of the combined company.

TiVo’s set-top boxes are in high demand from cable users as they also allow access to online video services such as Netflix, Hulu and Google Inc’s YouTube.

Up to Wednesday’s close, TiVo’s shares had fallen 28.6 percent in the past 12 months, while Rovi’s had fallen nearly 9 percent.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Anupama Dwivedi)