Universal Electronics, a maker of remote control and smart home technologies, said it’s diving deeper into the IoT pool by putting up $9 million in cash to acquire “certain assets” of RCS Technology, a maker of energy management and control products for the residential, commercial and hospitality sectors.
UEI said the deal include RCS’s product lines, inventory, intellectual property, engineering and development resources, sales and distribution relationships, and other assets used in its communication and smart thermostat business.
In addition to the $9 million up front, the financial terms include other incentive-based cash consideration to be paid over the next five years, they said. UEI plans to operate RCS as a wholly-owned subsidiary and market the energy monitoring, thermostat, sensor products and services under RCS brands.
UEI, a key supplier to Comcast and other video and smart home service providers, said the deal will broaden its portfolio of home sensing, monitoring and control products by adding programmable communicating thermostats, advanced HVAC controls, and in-home displays and user interfaces.
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RCS’s customers include ADT and Nexia Home Automation Systems. Its portfolio uses a variety of connectivity technologies, including Z-Wave, ZigBee and WiFi.
“RCS represents another important step toward our goal to be the leader in control and sensing technologies for the smart home,” Paul Arling, UEI's chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “This acquisition builds on our existing business with original equipment manufacturers in HVAC, giving us an expanded capability in delivering traditional and wireless thermostats, room air controllers, and wireless remotes to customers such as Daikin, Fujitsu and Panasonic. The addition of RCS brings new smart thermostat, sensing and monitoring products to our international market through our global sales, manufacturing, and distribution channels.”
