Macrovision Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:MVSN), a digital entertainment
technology leader, today announced it has reached an agreement to sell
its TV Guide Network property to Allen Shapiro and One Equity Partners
for approximately $255 million in consideration, subject to a working
capital adjustment at closing, plus up to an additional $45 million
payable through earn-out provisions through 2012. The transaction,
expected to close no later than April 1, 2009, includes the TV Guide
Online (tvguide.com) business, certain indemnifications and is subject
to customary closing conditions.
TV Guide Network is the 19th most distributed network and
available in 83 million homes. TV Guide.com is one of the
fastest-growing online entertainment destinations with over 15 million
monthly unique visitors.
"Today’s announcement further demonstrates our ability to execute
against our business plan. We remain committed to delivering leading
interactive program guide technology, data solutions and video search
capability as key ingredients to the future of the digital home. This
divestiture will further streamline our business operations and once
again demonstrates our ability to execute on Macrovision’s vision of
providing consumers with a uniquely simple home entertainment
experience,” said Fred Amoroso, President and CEO of Macrovision.
"Furthermore, we continue to make progress towards our goal of divesting
TVG Network, our horse racing wagering channel, which we expect to sign
in early 2009.”
"I believe the TV Guide Network and tvguide.com are unique properties in
the media landscape,” said Allen Shapiro. "These assets and brands are
extremely difficult to replicate and create significant opportunities
for sustained growth. We are very enthusiastic about working with One
Equity Partners to execute on our vision.”
"We are excited to partner with Allen Shapiro on this transaction,” said
Greg O’Hara, a Managing Director of One Equity Partners. "With Allen’s
expertise and impressive track record with media investments, we believe
this acquisition will serve as a platform for other acquisitions across
the entertainment and digital landscape.”
Ryan O’Hara, President of TV Guide Network added: "Over the last few
years, the TV Guide Network team has made great strides in transforming
the property into a fully distributed entertainment focused network that
will continue to develop and prosper. This transaction is really a win
for all constituents.”
The structure of the deal also allows Macrovision to utilize the
strategic capabilities of TV Guide Online while remaining focused on
Macrovision’s core competencies in technology. Specifically, Macrovision
retains the key strategic on-line elements currently utilized through
this site, namely its B2B grid syndications business, whereby the
company licenses its online guide to other portals, and functionality
that enhances its embedded guidance product offering, such as
integration from embedded guides with online or mobile guides that allow
for remote record.
More than 82 million TV households currently enjoy Macrovision licensed
interactive programming guides (IPGs) which provides the TV viewer
program listings information, making it the primary tool for managing
the TV experience. Macrovision’s solution portfolio, which includes
industry-leading IPGs and program metadata, associated patent portfolio,
music and video metadata, media recognition, as well as networking and
security technologies, position the company firmly at the center of the
shift to digital entertainment. Macrovision continues to invest in and
develop new guide technologies that ultimately enhance the consumers
total entertainment experience, including new offerings for CE device
makers, system operators, service providers and content providers of
virtually all forms of entertainment.
Macrovision’s previously disclosed financial estimates for 2008 and 2009
included the results of the TV Guide Online business. As the TV Guide
Online business is included in the sale of the TV Guide Network, the
results of the TV Guide Online business will now be included in
discontinued operations for all historical financial periods. Further,
the overall proceeds for businesses being sold will be lower than
previously expected. When considering the strength in Macrovision’s core
technology solutions and elimination of the TV Guide Online business
from continuing operations, 2008 adjusted pro forma revenue is now
expected to range between $420 million and $430 million. After removing
the TV Guide Online business from the estimates and adjusting for lower
than expected sale proceeds, Macrovision’s 2009 revenue is now expected
to range between $435 million and $475 million and adjusted pro forma
earnings per share is expected to range between $1.15 and $1.45.
Proceeds from all divestitures will be used to retire debt.
UBS Investment Bank served as financial advisor to Macrovision on this
transaction.
About Macrovision Solutions Corporation
Macrovision Solutions Corporation is focused on providing a uniquely
simple digital home entertainment experience by delivering solutions to
businesses to protect, enhance and distribute digital goods to consumers
across multiple channels. Macrovision’s technologies are deployed by
companies in the entertainment, consumer electronics, cable and
satellite, and online distribution markets to solve industry-specific
challenges and bring greater value and a more robust user experience to
their customers. The result of deploying Macrovision’s solutions is a
simple end user experience for discovering, managing and enjoying
digital content. Today, Macrovision provides connected middleware, media
recognition, interactive programming guides, copy protection and rich
media, data and metadata on music, games, movies and television
programming. The company also operates an entertainment portal which can
be found at http://www.allmusic.com.
Macrovision holds over 4,100 issued or pending patents and patent
applications worldwide.
Macrovision is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with numerous
offices across the United States and around the world including Japan,
Hong Kong, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom. More information about
Macrovision can be found at www.macrovision.com.
About Allen Shapiro
Allen Shapiro was most recently President of Mosaic Media Group and CEO
of dick clark productions. As President, Mr. Shapiro expanded Mosaic
from an entertainment service business into an asset management company
by investing in and controlling strategic media assets. Mr. Shapiro
facilitated the leveraged buyout of dick clark productions (dcp) and
became CEO of dcp in 2004. While at dcp, Shapiro served as Executive
Producer of "So You Think You Can Dance,” The Golden Globes, American
Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, and New Years Rockin’
Eve. dcp was successfully sold in June 2007. Mr. Shapiro arranged
Mosaic’s acquisition of Hamstein Music (ZZ Top) and the Daksel & Seldak
(Aerosmith) catalog to form Mosaic Music Publishing. Mosaic Music
Publishing was sold successfully in 2005. Prior to joining Mosaic,
Shapiro served as President / CEO of The IndieProd Company, where he
arranged the sale of the Company to Carolco Pictures Inc. While at
IndieProd, Shapiro also produced numerous films and television shows. In
1983, Shapiro joined, and subsequently became a partner at the law firm
Gipson Hoffman & Pancione. Shapiro also headed the music practice of the
prestigious Kaplan, Livingston, Goodwin, Berkowitz and Selvin firm and
specialized in music and entertainment law in private practice.
Shapiro’s professional career began in his hometown of Chicago, IL in
the Office of the General Counsel at Playboy Enterprises, Inc.
About One Equity Partners
Established in 2001, One Equity Partners manages $8 billion of
investments and commitments for J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in direct
private equity transactions. Over recent years, One Equity Partners has
invested approximately $3.5 billion to acquire over thirty companies in
a variety of industries including defense, chemicals, healthcare,
technology and manufacturing. One Equity Partners' investment
professionals are located across North America, Europe and Asia, with
offices in New York, Chicago, Menlo Park, Frankfurt and Hong Kong. Visit http://www.oneequity.com/
for more information.
Non-GAAP or Adjusted Pro Forma Information
Macrovision Solutions Corporation provides non-GAAP or Adjusted Pro
Forma information. References to Adjusted Pro Forma information are to
non-GAAP pro forma measures. The Company provides Adjusted Pro Forma
financial information to assist investors in assessing its current and
future operations in the way that its management evaluates those
operations. Adjusted Pro Forma Revenue and Adjusted Pro Forma EPS are
supplemental measures of the Company’s performance that are not required
by, and are not presented in accordance with, GAAP. The Adjusted Pro
Forma information does not substitute for any performance measure
derived in accordance with GAAP, including, but not limited to, GAAP
basis pro forma information. Macrovision Solutions Corporation believes
that providing Adjusted Pro Forma financial information is useful to
investors. Adjusted Pro Forma estimates exclude the results of the TV
Guide Magazine, TV Guide Network, TV Guide Online, TVG Network and eMeta
businesses, all of which are classified as discontinued operations.
These discontinued operations are assumed to have been sold prior to
2009 for aggregate proceeds of $350 million. Macrovision estimates
aggregate proceeds from the disposition to exceed $350 million. The $350
million in assumed proceeds from the sale of the businesses classified
as discontinued operations is assumed to reduce the debt issued in
conjunction with the acquisition of Gemstar. Further, Adjusted Pro Forma
EPS excludes the effect of non-cash items other than depreciation and
items which impact comparability that are required to be recorded under
GAAP, but that the Company believes are not indicative of its core
operating results, or that the Company expects to be incur over a
limited period of time. Excluded non-cash items include equity-based
compensation, amortization and non-cash interest expense such as the
amortization of debt issuance costs and non-cash tax expenses and
benefits related to the creation and release of discrete tax reserves.
Excluded items which impact comparability, but that the Company believes
are not indicative of its core operating results, include such costs as
transaction, transition and integration costs, restructuring and asset
impairment charges. Macrovision Solutions Corporation has assumed no
increase or decrease in shares outstanding in calculating Adjusted Pro
Forma EPS.
Management uses Adjusted Pro Forma information as a measure as it
excludes items management does not consider to be "core costs” when
making business decisions. For each such Adjusted Pro Forma financial
measure, the adjustment provides management with information about the
Company’s underlying operating performance that enables a more
meaningful comparison of its financial results in different reporting
periods. For example, since Macrovision Solutions Corporation does not
acquire businesses on a predictable cycle, management excludes
amortization of intangibles from acquisitions in order to make more
consistent and meaningful evaluations of the Company’s operating
expenses. Management also excludes the effect of restructuring, asset
impairment charges, gains or losses on sales of strategic investments,
insurance settlements and accrual reversals related to a former Gemstar
CEO for the same reason. Management excludes discontinued product lines
as it believes this exclusion is as meaningful for comparability
purposes as excluding the results from a business that meets the
criteria to be classified as discontinued operations on a GAAP basis.
Management excludes the impact of equity-based compensation to help it
compare current period operating expenses against the operating expenses
for prior periods and to eliminate the effects of this non-cash item,
which, because it is based upon estimates on the grant dates may bear
little resemblance to the actual values realized upon the future
exercise, expiration, termination or forfeiture of the stock-based
compensation, and which, as it relates to stock options and stock
purchase plan shares, is required for GAAP purposes to be estimated
under valuation models, including the Black-Scholes model used by
Macrovision Solutions Corporation.
Management uses these Adjusted Pro Forma measures to help it make
budgeting decisions between those expenses that affect operating
expenses and operating margin (such as research and development, sales
and marketing, and general and administrative expenses), and those
expenses that affect cost of revenue and gross margin. Further, Adjusted
Pro Forma financial information helps management track actual
performance relative to financial targets. Making Adjusted Pro Forma
financial information available to investors, in addition to GAAP
financial information, may also help investors compare the Company’s
performance with the performance of other companies in our industry,
which may use similar financial measures to supplement their GAAP
financial information.
Management recognizes that the use of Adjusted Pro Forma measures has
limitations, including the fact that management must exercise judgment
in determining which types of charges should be excluded from the
Adjusted Pro Forma financial information. Because other companies,
including companies similar to Macrovision Solutions Corporation, may
calculate their non-GAAP financial measures differently than the Company
calculates its Adjusted Pro Forma measures, these Adjusted Pro Forma
measures may have limited usefulness in comparing companies. Management
believes, however, that providing this Adjusted Pro Forma financial
information, in addition to the GAAP financial information, facilitates
consistent comparison of the Company’s financial performance over time.
The Company has provided Adjusted Pro Forma financial information to the
investment community, not as an alternative, but as an important
supplement to GAAP financial information; to enable investors to
evaluate the Company’s core operating performance in the same way that
management does.
Forward Looking Statements
All statements contained herein that are not statements of historical
fact, including statements that use the words "will” or "is expected
to,” or similar words that describe the Company’s or its management’s
future plans, objectives, or goals, are "forward-looking statements” and
are made pursuant to the Safe-Harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the
agreement to sell TV Guide Network and estimates of future revenues and
earnings, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be
materially different from the historical results and/or from any future
results or outcomes expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements, including among others, satisfaction of closing conditions
to the transaction and customer demand for the Company’s technologies
and offerings. Such factors are further addressed in the Company’s most
recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30,
2008 and such other documents as are filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission from time to time (available at www.sec.gov).
The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking
statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise
after the date of this release, except as required by law.