TiVo parent company Xperi Holding Corp. said it acquired Vewd Software Holdings Limited for $109 million in cash and debt, a move designed to bolster TiVo as a smart-TV middleware provider at a time when connected-TV viewing is growing.
Vewd software has been shipped as part of more than 450 million connected TV devices including smart TV brands Amazon, Commscope, Hisense, Nintendo, Sagemcom, Skyworth, Sony, Swisscom, TCL, TPV Philllips and Vestel.
In December, Vewd agreed with lenders to swap $118 million in debt for equity as part of a Chapter 11 restructuring plan filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of New York.
The restructuring was expected to have no impact on day-to-day operations, Vewd said at the time.
“Xperi’s TiVo product offerings, when integrated with Vewd’s suite of streaming platform solutions, will help accelerate and scale the deployment of TiVo OS for connected TVs and expand our video-over-broadband offerings,” Xperi CEO Jon Kirchner said. “Vewd’s global reach and expertise in providing support to content owners, TV OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] and SoC [software on a chip] partners as they deploy middleware and OS solutions across various devices is tremendously valuable and further paves the way for additional monetization opportunities as we expand our global footprint of streaming devices.”
Kirchner said Xperi plans to separate its IP and product business this fall and expects incremental revenue of $10 million in the second half of the year, followed by substantial higher revenue and a positive EBITDA contribution in 2023.
Xperi will be absorbing 275 Vewd employees and its management team will be integrated into Xperi’s management structure and continue to manage the business.
“We’re excited to join the Xperi family and look forward to combining the experience, skills and scale of both organizations to deliver new innovations for our clients,” said Vewd CEO Aneesh Rajaram. “Together, we’re set to deliver more engaging experiences to the millions of viewers globally who enjoy TV shows, sports, and the movies they love through our platform.” ■
