Advertisement
Canada markets open in 3 hours 9 minutes

  • S&P/TSX

    22,011.72
    +139.76 (+0.64%)
     

  • S&P 500

    5,070.55
    +59.95 (+1.20%)
     

  • DOW

    38,503.69
    +263.71 (+0.69%)
     

  • CAD/USD

    0.7310
    -0.0010 (-0.13%)
     

  • CRUDE OIL

    82.99
    -0.37 (-0.44%)
     

  • Bitcoin CAD

    90,818.92
    +357.91 (+0.40%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,434.73
    +10.63 (+0.75%)
     

  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,330.50
    -11.60 (-0.50%)
     

  • RUSSELL 2000

    2,002.64
    +35.17 (+1.79%)
     

  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.5980
    -0.0250 (-0.54%)
     

  • NASDAQ futures

    17,695.00
    +88.25 (+0.50%)
     

  • VOLATILITY

    15.85
    +0.16 (+1.02%)
     

  • FTSE

    8,091.89
    +47.08 (+0.59%)
     

  • NIKKEI 225

    38,460.08
    +907.92 (+2.42%)
     

  • CAD/EUR

    0.6836
    0.0000 (0.00%)
     

Is Comcast Mulling to Partially Acquire Icontrol Networks? (revised)

Zacks Equity Research
Updated

According to a recent report by Light Reading, leading cable MSO (multi service operator) and media company Comcast Corp. CMCSA is seriously thinking of acquiring certain useful assets of Icontrol Networks Inc., a major developer of smart-home products.

The report stated that Comcast is eyeing Icontrol’s Zigbee-based smart home products and the majority of its patents. Moreover, Alarm.Com Inc., a competitor of Icontrol, also has an eye on 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.

Icontrol’s smart-home product platform has a strong clientele in the North American cable MSO market. 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, Roger Communications Inc. RCI 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 a lack of demand for its products. There are two reasons for this setback. Firstly, competition in the market has intensified and, secondly, Comcast, its major 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.

ADVERTISEMENT

On the flip side, other large cable MSOs may not want to be a client of Comcast, their major competitor in the market. Charter Communications, Rogers Communications and Cox Communications might switch to a different platform and other vendors. In this situation Alarm.Com could prove to be a suitable alternative.

Alarm.Com also boasts a strong clientele consisting of Suddenlink Communications and Vivint Inc. Suddenlink is currently a division of Altice N.V. Notably, Altice is awaiting regulatory approval to acquire Cablevision Systems Corp. CVC. If the deal materializes, it may further boost Alarm.Com’s business.

 

We are re-issuing this article to correct an error: the company Zonoff is not a customer of Alarm.com. The original version, published June 14, 2016, should no longer be relied upon.


Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
ROGERS COMM CLB (RCI): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
COMCAST CORP A (CMCSA): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
CHARTER COMM-A (CHTR): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research