Xperi, which announced an integration agreement with TiVo in December valued at $3 billion (see report, Dec. 20), rejected an unsolicited, nonbinding all-cash bid from Metis Ventures, Xperi said Sunday. Metis’ Friday letter to the Xperi board outlined a plan to acquire all equity of Xperi on a standalone basis for $23.30 a share cash. Xperi shares rose 25 percent Wednesday to $18.70 after its Q4 report. Metis managing partners include Tom Lacey, who retired as Xperi CEO in May 2017 and was succeeded by current CEO Jon Kirchner. After a review of the Metis proposal, the Xperi board unanimously decided that, based on terms and conditions, “as well as lack of information, it is unable to conclude at this time that Metis Ventures’ non-binding proposal is reasonably likely to lead to a Superior Proposal" vs. Xperi’s agreement with TiVo. Xperi expressed continued “support and enthusiasm” for the pending transaction with TiVo. The proposed Metis buy would offer Xperi liquidity “more certain and timely” than the pending TiVo transaction, Metis claimed. Under the definitive agreement with TiVo, due to close this quarter, Xperi shareholders would own about 46.5 percent of the combined business, and TiVo stockholders the rest.

Google added a “contribute” tab to the latest version of Maps to make it easier for users to supply local information, blogged Kevin Reece, Google Maps director-product, Wednesday. Google users have contributed local knowledge to some 200 million points of interest in Maps, he said, including restaurant reviews, ratings, photos, answers to questions and address updates. Contributions have helped identify wheelchair-friendly entrances and restrooms for people with disabilities in more than 50 million places globally, he said.

SiriusXM invested $75 million in open audio platform SoundCloud, which will use the funding to accelerate product development and boost services for its creator and listener communities, said the companies Tuesday. SoundCloud CEO Kerry Trainor said the additional capital will allow it to strengthen connections between creators and listeners. SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer referenced SoundCloud's role in helping artists become discovered and build a fan base: "We admire SoundCloud's loyal and growing audience, its offering for creators, and its reputation and popularity in global music communities.” An ad agreement between SoundCloud and Sirius' Pandora streaming platform signed in 2018 (see 1810030046) allows advertisers and brands to buy SoundCloud's U.S. ad inventory directly through Pandora. SoundCloud and Pandora's combined U.S. audience offering reaches more than 100 million unique listeners, they said.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise executives lobbied FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on OK'ing 6 GHz unlicensed operations. HPE CEO Antonio Neri, HPE's Aruba Networks President Keerti Melkote and others asked the agency "to make these rules expeditiously to ensure that products and services based on unlicensed 6 GHz connectivity can be brought to market in the near term." That could help "the next wave of connectivity innovation," an HPE lawyer wrote in docket 18-295: Wi-Fi and unlicensed spectrum have made "transformational contributions" to the U.S. economy. The commission is expected to move this year to allow Wi-Fi in the band, amid utility and others' concerns (see 1911180050). Meanwhile, Southern Co. "urges" any such rules "include sufficient protections to ensure the integrity and reliability of licensed 6 GHz operations," the company said, also posted Friday. Radio local area network low-power indoor units in the band not using automated frequency coordination "will significantly impact Southern’s microwave links, even in a rural, non-urban setting," the utility said. It filed telecom engineer Lockard & White's analysis that Southern requested.

Private equity firm Black Dragon Capital agreed to buy Belden's Grass Valley broadcast software company, Grass Valley announced Tuesday. The deal is expected to be completed in Q1, the release said. “There are no immediate changes planned to Grass Valley's operational management structure.” The deal has an upfront cash payment of $140 million plus “various forms of deferred consideration,” including a $213 million five-year seller’s note, up to $130 million in payment-in-kind interest and $150 million in “potential earn-out payments,” Belden said.

Google hardware revenue fell in Q4 vs. the “fairly strong” hardware growth rate in the year-ago quarter, said Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat on parent Alphabet’s Monday earnings call. A “difficult hardware comparison” included the launch of the Pixel 3 last year, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter wrote investors Tuesday. Overall revenue grew 17 percent to $46.1 billion, below analysts' consensus of $46.94 billion. Revenue in the “other" line -- Google Play, hardware and YouTube's Premium, Music and TV subscription offerings -- rose 10 percent to $5.3 billion, due to growth in YouTube and Play, offset by declines in hardware, said Porat. Google’s “other bets” had a $2 billion operating loss, vs. a $1.3 billion loss, said the company. Pachter noted in other bets that Alphabet “has the luxury of funding its experiments” in artificial intelligence, “self-driving cars, high speed Internet and various new hardware initiatives while continuing to generate growing losses.” He’s “skeptical that many of these initiatives will pay future dividends.”

ON Semiconductor shares closed 14 percent lower Monday at $19.91 after its Q4 report included a 7 percent year on year revenue decline to $1.4 billion. Results were primarily due to “challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions,” said CEO Keith Jackson. ON had unexpectedly high demand for a low-margin product line in its consumer segment in Q4 and expects the trend to continue through Q1. The chipmaker intends to either discontinue the product line or significantly raise prices after Q1, said Chief Financial Officer Bernard Gutmann. ON’s 2018 annual report lists consumer solutions as CMOS sensors and driver actuators for artificial and virtual reality, drones, mobile phones, PCs, tablets, high-speed video cameras, “and various unique consumer applications.” Its solutions offer “superior image quality, fast frame rates, high definition and low light sensitivity to provide customers with a compelling visual experience, especially in emerging applications in IoT markets for security, surveillance and internet protocol cameras,” it said. The current pace of recovery in the semiconductor industry is “moderate” vs. a sharp uptick in demand, said Jackson. Results in 2019 demonstrated the “transforming nature of the semiconductor business,” he said, identifying key segments for the future as advanced driver-assistance systems, power management for servers, 5G infrastructure and high-power solutions for electric vehicles. The company expects to outperform most of its peers in automotive, industrial and cloud-power semiconductor end-markets, he said. The company disclosed Monday it’s exploring the sale of its 40,000-square-foot automotive components fab in Belgium.

Governments should quicken their pace to increase tech regulation, Microsoft President Brad Smith said during an interview with C-SPAN's The Communicators, to have been televised this weekend. A strong federal privacy law is vital, but a global solution is best, he said, noting Microsoft is “pretty enthusiastic” about EU’s general data protection regulation. “Digital technology has gone longer with less regulation than almost any technology since the middle of the 1800s,” he said. “The market, consumers and even the industry itself would be better served for the long term with a different balance.” He noted the importance of data centers and Ireland, which he said is to data what Switzerland is to money. Ireland is a safe place with mild temperatures for data centers and a network of laws for protecting privacy and moving data, he said, noting about 35 percent of European data is stored in Ireland. Microsoft has more than 100 data centers in 20 countries, he said. It’s becoming the largest consumer of electricity in the world, the executive said. The weaponization of data starts with hacking by political states waging disinformation campaigns, Smith said, noting Microsoft spends $1 billion yearly on security.

MyDevices announced technology designed to improve panic buttons used in hotels by eliminating dead zones, it said Tuesday. Its No Dead Zone panic button technology combines cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and LoRaWAN protocols to provide full coverage across a property “no matter how challenging the physical environment,” it said. The company cited a workplace safety initiative announced by the American Hotel & Lodging Association two years ago designed to provide emergency communications and location-based services for employees in the hospitality industry. “While 4G LTE signals from all carriers freely propagate in open areas, inside buildings, it’s severely limited by heavy building material that blocks, absorbs, reflects, and degrades cell and Wi-Fi signals,” said the company. That limits coverage and creates dead zones, which can “lead to catastrophic outcomes if a panic button fails to connect.” Integrating LoRaWAN technology into a panic button makes it possible to send long-range, low-power and low-data bandwidth transmissions from hard-to-reach locations like underground, in concrete or dense urban environments, it said. MyDevices’ said its technology is highly secure, affordable and installs in less than a day. It provides floor- and room-level accuracy plus outdoor GPS tracking on the property, and doesn’t require the use of a mobile phone to request assistance in an emergency, it said. It wasn't clear whether a consumer version would be made available. The company didn't respond to questions.

Although Casa Systems Chief Financial Officer Maurizio Nicolelli is resigning, the stock surged Friday after the news. He will pursue “opportunity outside of the communications technology industry,” the cable gearmaker said. Its board appointed Senior Vice President-Strategy and Corporate Development Scott Bruckner interim CFO. The company expects to meet or exceed some FY 2019 financial guidance. That's "positive," wrote Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold. Shares closed up 29 percent Friday at $4.69.