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Scoop: First Alert buys WiFi system maker Luma

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

First Alert, a subsidiary of Newell Brands, has quietly acquired Luma, a home WiFi system maker that had raised $22 million in VC funding from firms like Accel Partners and Amazon.

Bottom line: This comes shortly after Luma rival Eero announced layoffs, reflecting the difficulty of competing with NetGear and Google.

More notes:

  • The deal officially closed last week, and the two companies unveiled a joint product offering this week at CES (without announcing the acquisition).
  • No specifics yet on pricing, but this was not any sort of win for Luma shareholders.
  • Luma CEO Michael Bruinisse and chairman Paul Judge will transition out over the next couple months, but the Atlanta-based product and engineering teams will remain in place, per a source familiar with the situation.
  • Per an internal memo from Judge: "Now that Luma is part of a Fortune 500 company (Fortune #208 to be precise), we have much wider distribution, reach and scale."

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