After announcing on Jan. 13 that it had entered into agreement to buy Nest labs, Google has now finally closed the deal for $3.2 billion and is officially the owner of Nest Labs and the employer of Tony Fadell.
The 10-K filing of the search engine giant with the Securities Exchange Commission show that the transaction was completed on Feb. 7. It was also expected after the Federal Trade Commission terminated its review of the said deal on Feb. 4, meaning there was no antitrust issues that have to be dealt with.
"In January 2014, we entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of Nest Labs, Inc. (Nest), a company whose mission is to reinvent devices in the home such as thermostats and smoke alarms, for a total purchase price of $3.2 billion in cash, subject to adjustments. Prior to this transaction, we had an approximately 12% ownership interest in Nest, which was net against the total consideration," the document read.
"We expect that the acquisition will enhance Google's suite of products and services and allow Nest to continue to innovate upon devices in the home, making them more useful, intuitive, and thoughtful, and to reach more users in more countries. The transaction closed on February 7, 2014," it further stated.
The acquisition brings Nest Labs products such as the Learning Thermostat and the Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector into the portfolio of Google.
Former head of the Apple division that created that iPod and the iPhone, Tony Fadell, will still be at the helm of Nest operations but will be reporting to Google CEO Larry Page as his direct superior. The acquisition rattled the office of Apple global marketing SVP Phil Schiller, who even unfollowed Fadell on Twitter in January.
Google's new grab is a step closer to its dream of conquering homes with the hardware and software offerings of Nest. Some sectors expressed their worries about possible privacy breaches as Google takes over Nest Labs but Fadell was quick to clarify during the wake of the purchase that so far there have been no changes.
The acquisition is also stride toward being the most innovative company in the technology industry. In 2013, the firm acquired over 12 hardware companies that have projects or products that seem to be too ahead of present times. Even Steve Jobs' biographer, Walter Isaacson feels that the search engine firm has the edge over the iPhone and iPad manufacturer in terms of being innovative.
Neither Google nor Nest has issued any statement on how the talents of the new team will be used by the new owner.
"Google will help us fully realize our vision of the conscious home and allow us to change the world faster than we ever could if we continued to go it alone. We've had great momentum, but this is a rocket ship," wrote Fadell in a blog post titled "Welcome home" that announced the deal in January.
Don't be surprised if Google and Nest say now, "Welcome us to your home."
