As Strata-gee recently reported, there are currently seven active lawsuits that have been filed against Control4 and their Board of Directors in the wake of their acquisition by SnapAV. In a new DEFA14A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last Friday, the company addresses the issue of these lawsuits – saying that they are going to fight them. But then they do something very curious – they file an amendment to their original Schedule 14A filing, their Proxy Statement, with added information that appears to add missing material in response to allegations in the lawsuits filed against them.
Martin Plaehn
The Real Story of Why Control4 Wanted to be Acquired
In the wake of the recent announcement about the acquisition of Control4 by SnapAV, all executives associated with this deal have not been available to the media…their lips are sealed. But Control4 is a public company – at least until this deal closes and they go private – and a recent filing gives a dramatic, detailed view of how hard the parties worked to make this deal happen, and why Control4 really, really wanted to be acquired.
See new details on how the SnapAV/Control4 deal came to be…
[Read more…] about The Real Story of Why Control4 Wanted to be AcquiredControl4 CEO Warns of Slowing Growth, Says Retrofit is Key
By most measures, Control4 had an excellent quarter and a record year in Fiscal 2018. Revenues and income were up for the quarter and the company noted that 2018 was another record year in financial performance with both revenues and profits increasing nicely.
But during an investor call, CEO Martin Plaehn warned that they are experiencing new headwinds that are slowing growth. And on the day after the fiscal results were announced, Control4’s stock got hit hard, dropping at one point more than 18% and closing down about 17%.
See what’s going on at Control4…
[Read more…] about Control4 CEO Warns of Slowing Growth, Says Retrofit is KeyControl4 Announces Appointment of Charlie Kindel, ex-Amazon
BREAKING NEWS
Former Head of Amazon Smart Home Org. to be
SVP of Products & Services for Control4
Control4 Corp. announced today that it has appointed Charlie Kindel, an ex-Amazon executive in charge of their Alexa project, to fulfill the role of Control4 Senior Vice President of Products & Services. Kindel is replacing Eric Anderson, who announced his retirement recently after holding the same role since 2012.
See more on Kindel joining Control4…
[Read more…] about Control4 Announces Appointment of Charlie Kindel, ex-Amazon
Control4 Acquires Ihiji Validating Importance of Remote Management
BREAKING NEWS
Control4 announced today that it has acquired remote system monitoring and management pioneer Ihiji of Austin, TX. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal sends a strong signal of the growing importance of remote installation monitoring and management systems for integrators moving forward.
See more on this new acquisition by Control4… [Read more…] about Control4 Acquires Ihiji Validating Importance of Remote Management
Control4 Launches Ingenious Networking Certification Program
3rd Party Testing & Techs Can Earn Their Own Pakedge Gear
Control4 announced today a smart new training program that it hopes will create an army of Pakedge Certified Network Administrators (PCNA) throughout the custom integration industry. The company noted, correctly we think, that “Practical, hands-on training for networking has been lacking throughout the…custom install industry,” Control4 has designed an exceedingly clever learning program with a strong participation motivator – techs can earn Pakedge gear for their own systems.
See more on this smart training program from Control4/Pakedge… [Read more…] about Control4 Launches Ingenious Networking Certification Program
Control4 & Triad CEOs Explain to Strata-gee Why Their Deal Makes Sense
Control4 Corp. announced Tuesday that it has decided to get into the speaker business – doing so by acquiring Triad Speakers, Inc. – whom it describes as “a leader in advanced audio technology with best-in-class, customizable speaker-solutions.” The lofty language in the announcement in praise of Triad caught us by surprise and, unlike some of their other acquisitions, we did not find this one immediately obvious.
So when given the opportunity to interview both CEOs about this unexpected development, we jumped at the chance to learn more about the “hows” and the “whys” of this unusual partnership.
See what the two CEOs told us about Control4’s acquisition of Triad… [Read more…] about Control4 & Triad CEOs Explain to Strata-gee Why Their Deal Makes Sense
Control4 Beefs Up Routers with Built-In Cloud Monitoring Solution
Control4 Corporation announced today that it has launched a line of routers that are upgraded with their BakPak cloud-based remote monitoring and performance assessment capability built-in. The company says this is a “first for the industry.”
See more on this interesting new launch from Control4… [Read more…] about Control4 Beefs Up Routers with Built-In Cloud Monitoring Solution
Control4 Names New SVP of Worldwide Sales
Bryce Judd Joins Company from Division of Nokia
Control4 Corporation announced yesterday that it has appointed Bryce Judd as its new Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales. Judd assumes the role vacated by Jim Arnold who is said to be retiring after serving in the same position since 2007. The company says that Arnold will stay on through the end of the year on an “advisory basis.”
See more on Bryce Judd, new head of Control4 sales… [Read more…] about Control4 Names New SVP of Worldwide Sales
Everything’s Fine, Says Control4; But Investors See Monsters Under the Bed
This story is being written on Halloween – hence, the “monsters” in the headline. On Thursday, Control4 released the financial results for their fiscal third quarter and held a conference call for analysts and investors. The numbers all looked good and the management team rightly crowed about their prowess. But during the Q&A session tough questions emerged…