AlertMe, a UK-based developer of smart devices enabling a connected home, has been acquired by one of its backers, utility company British Gas, in a deal worth £65m ($100m), Techcrunch reported Friday.
Accounting for its past investments, which gave British Gas a 21% stake, the net cost to the utility company will be £44m.
AlertMe raised £15m in a 2010 series C round, from investors including British Gas, Good Energies, Index Ventures, SET Venture Partners and VantagePoint Venture Partners. British Gas made a £5.7m equity investment and provided a further £20m to deploy AlertMe’s products in the UK.
The company also secured $13m in a 2009 series B round backed by Good Energies, Index Ventures, SET Venture Partners and VantagePoint Venture Partners. It also secured $8.3m in an undisclosed series A round.
AlertMe’s platform provides energy monitoring devices and software. Its lead product is Hive, a thermostat that has been installed in some 150,000 homes by British Gas.