The May settlement of the patent litigation between TiVo and EchoStar Corp. has made TiVo appealing to other companies.
The seven-year legal battle resulted in a $500 million settlement that validated TiVo’s IP rights to its “time warp” technology, which allows users to simultaneously record and watch television shows. TiVo claimed that EchoStar infringed on its patented technology. With the lawsuit resolved, analysts say TiVo will see increased sales from IP fees paid by TV distributors and expanded international distribution of its set-top boxes.
Bloomberg reports that TiVo’s decisive win makes it attractive to companies such as Google and Microsoft looking to anchor themselves into the evolving digital video industry. If a takeover occurs, analysts estimate that TiVo could sell for $2.41 billion, or $20 a share, which is almost double its current market value. Shareholders would see a 94-percent return.
