Amazon Expands Front Door Presence

News, Wire

On April 12, 2018, Amazon.com, Inc. completed the acquisition of Ring, Inc. for $998.89MM in an all-cash deal. Ring Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is based in Santa Monica, California.

Ring Inc. manufactures video doorbells for homes. Its video doorbell lets users answer from anywhere in the world using Smartphone and Android devices. It features an HD camera with night vision and an LED ring that provides an array of light pattern.

It offers speakers, monitoring, and security solutions that let users see and speak with visitors at their front door. It provides instant alerts when someone rings a user’s doorbell or motion is detected. Ring has a cloud recording solution that captures every activity detected by the video doorbell motion sensors, including doorbell rings.

Previous investors in Ring included: Amazon Alexa Fund, Amazon.com Inc. Investment Arm, American Family Insurance Company, CRV, DFJ Growth Management, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, J.F. Shea Venture Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, QUALCOMM Ventures, True Ventures, Upfront Ventures and Western Technology Investment.

Watermark Commentary: Ring will become an operating subsidiary of Amazon.com and will continue the operate its business as it was prior to the acquisition. Thus, it appears that Amazon will approach integration by continuing to empower Ring’s CEO and Chief Inventor, James Siminoff and Director of Operations, August Cziment This should bode well for the ROI for Amazon investors.

Source: S&P CapitalIQ