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Comcast Completes Partial Acquisition of Icontrol Networks

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Recently, Comcast Corp. (CMCSA - Free Report) , the largest cable MSO (multi service operator) and media giant, has concluded its proposed acquisition of certain useful assets of Icontrol Networks Inc., a major developer of Internet-of-Things (IoT) and smart-home products.

Comcast has acquired Icontrol’s Zigbee-based smart home products and the majority of its patents. These products basically consist of Icontrol’s "Converge" software platform, which is already used by Comcast’s Xfinity Home touch-screen panel and back-end servers. However, financial terms of the deal are yet to be disclosed.

Moreover, Alarm.Com Holdings Inc. (ALRM - Free Report) , a competitor of Icontrol, has acquired a minor part of the Z-wave product portfolio together with a handful of patents and the Piper home monitoring assets that Icontrol acquired in 2014. The company has spent approximately $140 million for the deal.

Icontrol’s smart-home product platform has a strong clientele in the North American cable MSO market. Notably, Comcast itself is a major customer of Icontrol. Apart from Comcast, other major customers include Time Warner cable, a division of Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR - Free Report) , Roger Communications Inc. (RCI - Free Report) and Cox Communications Inc. Small-sized cable TV operators are also gradually shifting to Icontrol’s platform.

However, in recent years, Icontrol has been facing waning demand for its products. This set back can primarily be attributed to two reasons. First, competition in the market has intensified and second, Comcast, its most important customer has decided to develop some of the smart-home products in-house. Hence, the acquisition of the core assets of Icontrol will boost the existing product portfolio of Comcast.

Comcast stated that Icontrol’s Zigbee-based smart home products will provide the backbone of the cable TV operator’s Xfinity Home service portfolio. At present, Comcast licenses its X1 video platform to other cable TV operators. Besides expansion into the wholesale market, Comcast will look forward to use new smart home assets from Icontrol to broaden its role in the emerging IoT space.

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