Motorola’s sell off its set top box unit has ignited serious interest from major private equity firms. Motorola is reported to be selling the unit that had $10.1 billion in sales in 2008. Reuters reports that Bain Capital, TPG Capital, Blackstone Group and Silver Lake Partners have put in bids for the unit. There’s also […]

Irdeto, the CA/DRM specialist, has acquired Philips Electronics’ full suite of white-box cryptology patents, patent applications, software and knowledge, to significantly booster its existing IP portfolio for its Irdeto Cloakware solution.

Telecast Fiber Systems has been acquired by Belden. Both companies make cable and wiring products with a focus on the broadcast industry. Telecast specialises in fibre-optic systems. Belden has global manufacturing, sales and marketing locations.

From David Del Valle in Madrid Two TV mergers between Mediaset-controlled Tele 5 and Prisa-owned Cuatro and between Antena 3 and La Sexta will reshape the Spanish TV market as digital switch over is underway to meet the April deadline. Tele 5 and Cuatro will be the first in the consolidation process with the imminent […]

KIT digital, a global provider of on-demand software solutions for managing and monetising Internet Protocol (IP)-based video assets, has formed an operating joint venture agreement with Buenos Aires and São Paulo-based, Latinstock Digital. The two companies will jointly market products and services to clients in Latin America and throughout the KIT digital global network, effective […]

Liberty Media Corp Chief Executive Officer Greg Maffei has said the company will look at the Hollywood studio and library assets of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which is considering selling itself to the highest bidder. Maffei said the company would look at MGM for a possible transaction but said the assets are not a “must-have” for its Liberty […]

General Electric has agreed to pay Vivendi $5.8 billion for the French group's 20 per cent stake in NBC Universal paving the way for the conglomerate's planned sale of 51 per cent of the US media group to Comcast. The valuation is at the high end of expectations and essentially equates to one fifth of […]

Spain’s Telefonica has agreed to buy 21 percent of Digital+, the pay television business of indebted media group Prisa, for E470 million. However only E240 million will exchange hands as the remaining E230 million correspond to debt owed to Telefonica by Prisa. Telefonica and Prisa have drawn up a shareholders’ agreement whereby the Spanish telecom […]

ITV has paid £18 million (E19.7m) cash for Disney's 25 per cent stake in GMTV. The acquisition forms part of ITV's strategy to focus on its core activities and will allow closer integration between ITV and the breakfast service. John Cresswell, Chief Operating Officer at ITV, said: “GMTV is the gateway to the ITV day […]

BBC Worldwide will be allowed to acquire Virgin Media’s 50% stake in pay-TV joint venture UKTV to help secure the financial future of Channel 4, despite a ban on all other merger and acquisition activity imposed by the BBC Trust. Sir Michael Lyons, the BBC Trust chairman, outlined a tighter remit for BBC Worldwide that […]