Dolby Labs To Buy GE Licensing From GE Aerospace For $429 Mln Cash

(RTTNews) - Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (DLB) announced Thursday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire GE Licensing, an intellectual property licensing business, from GE Aerospace (GE) in a $429 million all cash transaction.

The deal is expected to close by the end of fiscal year 2024, subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.

The company does not expect the acquisition to have a material impact on its fiscal year 2024 results. However, the deal is projected to be accretive on a non GAAP basis to operating margins and earnings per share in fiscal 2025.

Dolby further said the transaction is not expected to affect its practice of returning capital to stockholders through its quarterly dividend and through stock repurchases to offset dilution from stock-based compensation.

GE Licensing owns, maintains, and licenses an extensive portfolio of IP primarily targeting the consumer digital media and electronics sectors.

The acquisition will include a portfolio of over 5,000 patents, including foundational patents in standard essential video compression.

Following the deal, GE Aerospace will retain its portfolio of IP related to its core aerospace and defense technologies, as well as the trademark portfolio for the GE brand.

According to Dolby, the acquisition is an extension of its existing licensing businesses. GE Licensing's portfolio of video codec technology, such as HEVC and VVC, complement, strengthen, and expand the scale of Dolby's intellectual property portfolio, it said.