British Gas to acquire connected homes company AlertMe

British Gas is to acquire AlertMe, a UK-based connected homes company that provides innovative energy management products and services.  The net cost to British Gas will be £44 million, taking into account an existing 21% holding in AlertMe. It is anticipated that the transaction will close by the end of the first quarter of 2015.

AlertMe provides the technical platform that underpins British Gas’ existing connected homes activity, including its remote heating control product, Hive Active Heating.  The acquisition gives British Gas ownership and control over a scalable technology platform, software development capability, data analytics and a patent portfolio. This demonstrates our continued commitment to innovate for our customers and reinforces British Gas’ leading position in connected homes in the UK.

The acquisition will also enable further development of connected homes products and services in other parts of the Centrica Group, through Direct Energy in North America, and Bord Gáis in the Republic of Ireland.

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Notes:

1.    In October 2010, it was announced that British Gas had acquired a 15.96% stake in AlertMe.  Subsequent investments have taken its holding up to 21%.

2.    AlertMe is a market leading connected home technology company founded in 2004 and provides simple and affordable home energy management and connected home services, in Europe and the US, both directly to consumers and indirectly though channel partners. AlertMe also provides a cloud based platform for ‘Internet of Things’ products and services.