It's official: Gemstar-TV Guide
Content-management expert Macrovision's $2.8 billion bid for the entertainment-information powerhouse is financed in part by $650 million in new debt and an as-yet undisclosed amount of stock swaps. Former Gemstar owners who choose the option get 0.2548 Macrovision shares per Gemstar share.
Macrovision also spun out some of its software lines to raise cash for this deal. RealNetworks
The new two-headed MacroStar beast will keep the Macrovision name and position itself for a bigger role in our increasingly digital entertainment future. The dream of becoming everything but the kitchen sink for your living-room needs has already infected the likes of Microsoft
It will be intriguing to see how Macrovision figures into this jigsaw-puzzle market with Gemstar under its belt. Perhaps the company would settle for becoming the DRM protection and media-guide combination of choice for the competition. Or does the dream explode?
Further Foolishness: