Control4 Buys Pakedge for $32.7 Million

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Martin Plaehn

It’s a win-win deal. Control4 Corporation will buy Pakedge Device & Software, a maker of networking products and cloud network-management services for both wireless and wired networking solutions for the connected home and business, for $32.7 million.

Pakedge had approximately $18.5 million in sales in 2015 via its professional sales and installation channel of 1700 independent dealers, 560 of which are also Control4 certified dealers.

“The connected consumer, connected home, and connected business opportunity is expanding along with the complexities of supporting thousands of different devices and services in homes and business around the world,” says Martin Plaehn, Control4 Chairman and CEO [shown in photo at right]. “By embracing networking as an expanded core-competency, integrating it tightly with our entertainment and automation capabilities, and delivering a single cloud-based reporting and management solution, Control4 will be able to harness the expanding opportunity, bring more simplicity to the complicated, and increase satisfaction for our end customers.”

Pakedge is known in the industry for its many innovations and its dependable and high performance solutions. Pakedge Connect+ is an innovative next-generation network platform comprised of wired and wireless networking products that are integrated through advanced software and connected to the cloud. Connect+ incorporates proprietary artificial intelligence-based algorithms to detect, diagnose, self-repair and resolve network problems.

Pakedge Router

Pakedge virtualization technologies enable network devices, whether within a single network or across multiple networks, to be uniquely grouped and managed in new ways. Pakedge advanced software, such as Pakedge Zones, creates new networking capabilities for prioritizing network use for audio, video, communication, security, bulk-data and management applications.

The cloud-based management technology, BakPak, enables remote management and maintenance. The Pakedge platform-architecture approach enables scalable and tightly defined integration with third-party devices from many manufacturers, similar to how Control4’s architecture enables third-party products to integrate with its platform.

“Pakedge began 12 years ago with the strategic vision that everything, starting with audio / video systems, will be connected over an IP-based platform,” said Victor Pak, Pakedge Founder and CEO. “Our success was driven by a combination of customer focused innovation, engineering excellence, and passionate customers. Control4 shares our corporate philosophy and strategic vision. Joining together is a logical and exciting step to accelerate the realization of that vision for our customers.”

Control4 intends to support the Pakedge product-line for all Pakedge dealers, regardless of whether they are also Control4 certified dealers. Pakedge dealers will continue to order product from the Pakedge dealer portal while Control4 dealers will now be able to order the most popular Pakedge products via the Control4 dealer portal, which will expand to offer the full Pakedge line in the near term.

The combined company intends to grow both the Pakedge and Control4 businesses through a combined dealer channel of over 4700 dealers. All qualified dealers will be encouraged to explore both product-lines, and the combined Control4 and Pakedge team intends to actively cross-train and cross-certify dealers who desire to represent both product lines but are currently only qualified for one.

The Pakedge founders, senior management team and broader organization are joining Control4. The Pakedge teams in Huntington Beach and Hayward, California and its independent development office in Belgrade, Serbia, will begin working together with Control4 to create, market, and support industry-leading and tightly integrated solutions for the connected smart home and business.

Go Control4 and Pakedge