In a move to bolster its casual-gaming portfolio, RealNetworks has bought Macrovision's Trymedia unit.
The deal, announced in a news release Friday, marked the latest in Macrovision's moves to shed its non-core assets. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. In trading late Friday morning, shares of RealNetworks edged up $0.04, or 0.7 percent, to $5.91. Shares of Macrovision, which announced fourth-quarter earnings Thursday, climbed $0.45, or 2.8 percent, to $16.81.
RealNetworks, whose RealPlayer media player and Rhapsody music service compete against Microsoft's Windows Media Player and Apple's iTunes respectively, has been seeking acquisitions in the gaming sector.
In September, the company bought Game Trust, a New York City-based casual gaming infrastructure company founded by Adeo Ressi (also founder of Thefunded.com) and backed by Silicon Alley Venture Partners, Topspin Partners, and angel investors Timothy Draper of Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Elon Musk of SpaceX. In February 2007, RealNetworks bought Atrativa, a casual gaming site based in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Through partners including AOL, Yahoo, and T-Online, Trymedia provides syndication software for distribution of PC games.
"This acquisition doubles the scale of our syndication business and we are incredibly excited to welcome the Trymedia team," Harold Zeitz, senior vice president of RealGames, said in a statement.
The deal is expected to close this quarter, according to RealNetworks.
Earlier this month, Macrovision, which is seeking to shore up its balance sheet as it seeks shareholder approval of its $2.8 billion acquisition of Gemstar-TV Guide, sold its software delivery and licensing business to private equity firm Thoma Cressey Bravo for about $200 million.
Macrovision provides services to entertainment, gaming, and software companies for distributing and securing digital goods sent to consumers and some shareholders, including hedge fund Loeb Partners, have questioned the wisdom of the Gemstar acquisition, which is part of a strategy to emphasize digital entertainment services.
In November, Macrovision bougth All Media Guide Holdings, a provider of databases and metadata for music, films, and games.
Macrovision posted fourth-quarter earnings per diluted share of $0.17 on revenue from continuing operations of $45.2 million, versus earnings of $0.31 per diluted share on revenue from continuing operations of $36.6 million in the year-earlier quarter.
For the quarter ended December 31, Seattle-based RealNetworks recorded net income of $2.7 million, or $0.02 per share, compared with profit of $39.3 million, or $0.22 cents per share, in the prior year's period. Revenue climbed to $156.9 million from $125.6 million.