US Cable Support > Comcast Cable TV > [STB] Cisco thinking of getting out of the set-top box business?

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Re: [STB] Cisco thinking of getting out of the set-top box busin

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The set-top box: the Rasputin of home electronics
By Jim Barthold, FierceIPTV - December 4, 2012
»www.fierceiptv.com/story/set-top···12-12-04

Like Rasputin, the box has been stabbed, shot and poisoned and has suffered sundry other indignities, but it keeps coming back into a spot of honor somewhere in the vicinity of the television set. Perhaps, like Rasputin, the only way to end a set-top box is to drown it; or maybe blow it up.

reply to telcodad
A report this morning that Google has set a deadline of today to secure bids for Motorola Mobility's Home unit, with ARRIS, Pace and Technicolor expected to be some of the bidders:

Google Sets Deadline for Motorola Home Bids
By Jeff Baumgartner, Light Reading Cable - December 7, 2012
»www.lightreading.com/document.as···lr_cable

The TiVo factor
One big question heading into this part of the process is the overhang created by TiVo's pending patent litigation with Motorola, which is taking place in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Texarkana Division.

On Wednesday, the judge in the case, Rodney Gilstrap, issued the claim construction brief, a critical step in which the court interprets the language of TiVo's intellectual property, including TiVo's key Multimedia Time Warping System patent. After that, the parties can either settle or prepare for a court clash that's anticipated to get underway in May 2013.

That overhang is significant because TiVo has been successful in winning court battles or scoring lucrative settlements. It's not yet known how or if Google will factor the pending litigation with TiVo into the terms of a Motorola asset sale, or if it intends to settle the TiVo issue before moving the sales process to its final phases.

If Google doesn't find a buyer for Motorola Mobility's Home unit before the end of this year, they may then consider breaking up the Home unit and selling it off in piece-part fashion:

Does Google Have a Plan B?
By Jeff Baumgartner, Light Reading Cable - December 7, 2012
»www.lightreading.com/blog.asp?bl···lr_cable

Could Cisco buy motorola? What would be the best buyer for the motorola cable business? I would like a service to compete with dish hopper and directv genie service.

Could one company buy both cisco and motorola's cable units?

Is there any chance of a service like genie or hopper coming to cable?

reply to telcodad
A sale to ARRIS is now looking more likely:

Google Said to Get Best Bids for Unit from Pace, Arris
By Serena Saitto & Brian Womack, Bloomberg - December 10, 2012
»www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-0···ris.html

and given this reader comment to the LRC article (»www.lightreading.com/blog.asp?bl···46&#msgs ):

Re: While we're speculating...
By sbiller1
Monday December 10, 2012 6:18:12 AM

Now that we've heard from Bloomberg that the two leading bids are from Pace and Arris, I think the answer to your question about Google indemnifying any potential acquirer to the litigation risk associated with the TiVo suit seems plausible. Pace has a market cap of close to $500 million making it a stretch for me to see how they can swallow the Moto business without significant financing from Google. Arris' 1.6 billion market cap seems more in-line with the numbers being reported. An interesting side-effect of the Pace rumor is they already have a deal with TiVo. Perhaps the deal already includes a baked-in settlement (credit?) with TiVo for past infringement, etc.

An article on the Light Reading Cable site this afternoon with more info on the bids:

Pace Bids For Motorola Home
By Jeff Baumgartner, Light Reading Cable - December 10, 2012
»www.lightreading.com/document.as···lr_cable

Also on the Multichannel News site: »www.multichannel.com/technology/···t/140651

Pace says it wants Motorola
Set-top box maker confirms it offered 'indicative, non-binding bid' to Google
By Jim Barthold, FierceIPTV - December 11, 2012
»www.fierceiptv.com/story/pace-sa···12-12-11

reply to telcodad
Well, this could be a first step in Cisco selling off its set-top unit:

Cisco Said to Hire Barclays to Sell Linksys Division
By Serena Saitto & Jordan Robertson, Bloomberg - December 16, 2012
»www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-1···ion.html

From the article:

Cisco wants to sell Linksys as part of its strategy to exit consumer businesses while expanding in corporate software and technology services. Chief Executive Officer John Chambers eliminated 7,800 jobs over the past year and closed businesses such as the Flip video-camera unit amid a slowdown in sales growth after a foray into consumer technologies backfired.

In addition to Linksys, Cisco also operates in the home market with its Scientific Atlanta set-top-box unit and with NDS Group Ltd., a software maker for paid-television channels used by British Sky Broadcasting Group, Canal Plus and DirecTV. Cisco bought NDS in July for $5 billion.

why would they sell the highly successful cisco router business?

reply to mikedz4

reply to telcodad

quote:

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Ever since Google announced it would acquire Motorola Mobility last year there have been questions about what it would do with the company's large internet and TV set-top box business, and now that question has been answered: it's selling Motorola Home to Arris for $2.35 billion in cash and stock. Another maker of cable boxes and modems, Arris says the acquisition will both increase its product offering, and increase its patent portfolio thanks to a license to "a wide array" of Motorola Mobility patents. The transaction has been approved by the boards of both companies, and they expect the deal to close in Q2 2013.

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