Pendrell Completes ContentGuard Acquisition
By Jeffrey Hill | November 2, 2011
[Satellite TODAY 11-02-11] Pendrell Corp., formerly ICO, has completed its acquisition of a controlling interest in ContentGuard Holdings, a developer and licensor of digital content distribution patents, subsidiary Pendrell Technologies announced Nov. 1.
The transaction gives Pendrell Technologies a 90.1 percent interest in ContentGuard, which was purchased for $90.1 million in cash in September. Time Warner owns the remaining 9.9 percent of ContentGuard.
ContentGuard’s portfolio features more than 260 issued patents and more than 160 pending patent applications worldwide. The company holds licensing agreements in place with LG Electronics, Microsoft Corporation, Nokia, Panasonic, Sharp, Sony, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba, Casio, Hitachi, Technicolor, Time Warner and Xerox Corporation.
In a statement, Pendrell CEO Ben Wolff said his company intends to grow ContentGuard’s business through accelerated licensing programs. “With our combined intellectual property expertise, financial resources, tax assets and strategic relationships, we are uniquely positioned in the rapidly evolving intellectual property landscape.”