You might not know Rovi, but the company is apparently quite big as it is acquiring TiVo for $1.1 billion in a cash-and-stock deal. Rovi holds a bunch of patents related to the entertainment industry and does a lot of software licensing to set-top box makers. It also manages metadata for TV content and sell them to cable companies, etc. TiVo has been a pioneer in the DVR space. Many people gave… Read More
from TechCrunch
Amazon posted its first-quarter earnings today, and boy did they not disappoint: it beat what analysts were expecting on nearly all fronts, and the stock is up more than 12% after its huge beat. What’s going on here with the stock? Basically, Amazon shares tend to swing wildly whenever it reports earnings. Last quarter shares tanked 13% after missing fourth-quarter expectations. The year… Read More
from TechCrunch
Carl Icahn, one of Apple’s biggest activist investors, told CNBC he has exited his position in the company. He was known for basically trying to pressure Apple into bumping up its efforts to return value to investors. At the he declared his position, Apple was in the process of a $100 billion several-year capital return program that included buybacks and dividends, but that… Read More
from TechCrunch
Bnbsitter is another startup operating in the Airbnb and short term rentals ecosystem. However, unlike property-management style concierge services, such as London-based Hostmaker, which charge an on-going management fee, the Paris-based company offers something more akin to an on-demand platform for concierge. Read More
from TechCrunch
Oracle today announced that it is making an acquisition to (literally and figuratively) build out its Primavera project management and billing business: it is buying Textura, a provider of cloud-based contract and payment management solutions specifically for the construction industry. The all-cash deal, Oracle said, is worth $663 million, net of Textura’s existing cash. Oracle said… Read More
from TechCrunch
Drug research giant AbbVie announced a deal to buy cancer drug startup Stemcentrx in a $5.8 billion cash and stock deal this morning. The terms of the deal include $2 billion in cash and $3.8 billion in stock upfront, plus another $4 billion in milestone-based payouts to StemCentrx, and $3.8 in stock. The deal values the company at up to $10.2 billion, according to a memo from early… Read More
from TechCrunch
Xola, a software platform that manages booking and marketing for tour providers, is venturing deeper into international markets after closing a $5 million Series A. The funding was led by Rakuten Travel, which is Japan’s largest online travel agency, and contributed half of the round. Read More
from TechCrunch
French startup Drivy has raised another $35 million (€31 million) from Cathay Innovation, Nokia Growth Partners and existing investors Bpifrance, Via-ID and Index Ventures. If you don’t already know Drivy, the company wants to rethink the way car rental works today. Read More
from TechCrunch
NASA is spreading the dough around like a pastry chef. Today the agency announced $50 million in grants to nearly 300 different recipients, from small engineering firms to big-time research institutions. And then it truly shelled out, awarding a $193 million contract to Universities Space Research Association in Maryland. Read More
from TechCrunch
So you wanna buy a startup? But how do you get the deal signed and roll their team into yours? Consulting behemoth Ernst & Young wants to have the answers and rule M&A advisory services in Silicon Valley. So today it acqhired Tasman Consulting, Bay Area specialists in integrating acqhires and acquisitions into their new parent companies. Tasman’s founders Niki Lee and Shari… Read More
from TechCrunch