Macrovision Closes Gemstar Deal

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Macrovision Corp. said Friday that it has completed the acquisition of Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc.


The new company will be known as Macrovision Solutions Corp., the Santa Clara-based software company said.


“As the digital entertainment industry has recently evolved, we have focused our efforts on enabling our customers to respond to the demand for open, easy-to-use and integrated capabilities that deliver on the promise of the digital home,” Macrovision’s Chief Executive Fred Amoroso said in a statement.


Gemstar’s shareholders OK’d the deal earlier this week with more than 90 percent voting in favor of the transaction, Los Angeles-based Gemstar said.


The deal has been on shaky legs since it was announced last year. Last month, speculation circled that Macrovision couldn’t acquire financing after Moody’s Investors Service lowered Macrovision’s senior secured debt ratings, creating “the perception the deal’s in question,” analyst Todd Mitchell said in a repot.


Some shareholders in Macrovision also opposed the deal, saying Gemstar would take away from the company’s bottom line.


Now that the deal is complete, Macrovision has said it will keep Gemstar’s Internet programming guide assets and will explore options for selling TV Guide magazine, TV Guide Network and the TVG horse-racing channel.


Also, according to reports this week, several editors from TV Guide magazine, including editor-in-chief Ian Birch, were laid off in advance of the sale’s closing.


As of May 5, shares of the new company will begin trading on Nasdaq under the temporary ticker symbol “MVSND.” On June 2, the “D” will be removed and the shares will resume trading under the symbol “MVSN,” Macrovision’s original ticker.

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