On July 8, 2016, the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission granted early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, or HSR, for Rovi's proposed $1.1 billion acquisition of TiVo. Early termination is granted if the FTC and DOJ have completed their regulatory review and determine that no enforcement action is necessary. The proposed acquisition, which was announced on April 29, 2016, is subject to additional customary closing conditions and is expected to close in Q3 of 2016.
The Deal reported on June 16 that Rovi refiled for clearance under HSR to give antitrust officials another month to decide whether to launch an extended investigation of the merger or to let it close without further scrutiny.
Rovi creates personalized and data-driven ways for viewers to discover the right entertainment and for providers to discover the right audiences, leading innovation in content discovery since introduction of the first on-screen program guide in 1981. TiVo, the inventor of the DVR, offers innovative cloud-based Software-as-a-Service solutions that enable viewers to consume content across multiple screens in and out of the home. The combined company will have worldwide portfolios of 6,000+ patents and pending applications.
Cooley is advising Rovi on both the acquisition and the antitrust aspects of the transaction.