This research note highlights our analysis of mergers and acquisitions in the second quarter of 2022, based on our database of relevant deals in the smart buildings space. We review the technology areas attracting acquirers, the notable acquisitions during the quarter and the consolidation of startup firms.

It is our second article in a series analysing financial transactions in the second quarter of 2022. The first article summarized the 85 funding rounds we tracked amounting to almost $2.3 billion across the smart buildings space in Q2-2022. Although investor funding (in USD millions) in Q2 2022 declined 37% versus Q1.

Our research shows that consolidation of new entrants (startups) has continued at a similar rate to 2021, which was a record year with 81 startup transactions. In this article, we go on to list notable acquisitions in the second quarter across six sub-sectors of the smart buildings space - BIoT (Building Internet-of-Things), Proptech, Physical Security, Smart Home, Energy Management & Building-to-Grid (B2G).

In the second quarter of 2022, Memoori recorded 53 acquisitions in the Smart Buildings space. While overall M&A activity in H1 2022 is down 26% from H2 2021, the first six months of 2022 saw 43 acquisitions of startup companies (founded no earlier than 2012).

BIoT (Building Internet-of-Things)

• Pierlite, an Australian provider of lighting and technology solutions, together with parent company Signify, has expanded its intelligent IoT ecosystem offering with the acquisition of SenseAgent smart building technology portfolio from Levaux for an undisclosed sum. 
• Building automation giant Johnson Controls announced the acquisition of cybersecurity provider Tempered Networks with the aim of developing its holistic view of smart building cybersecurity. See our 5^th July articlecovering this transaction.

Proptech

• Siemens Smart Infrastructure announced its largest building technologies acquisition to date: the purchase of US-based Brightly Software, a provider of cloud-based asset and maintenance management software for $1.575 billion, at a revenue exit multiple of 8.75. See our 4^th July Research Note on this transaction.
• Tango, a US provider of cloud-based integrated workplace management software, acquired billie, based in Ottawa, Canada providing a mobile-first workplace application that uses gamification to engage employees and modernize workspace solutions.
• HqO, the US provider of a workplace experience platform, announced the acquisition of Leesman, a UK provider of benchmark data for measuring employee workplace experience.  Leesman’s extensive workplace experience data, which includes nearly 1 million office respondents and nearly 300,000 home-based respondents, will augment HqO’s workplace experience platform.

Physical Security

• Allegion, a leading US security products and solutions provider, has completed the previously announced acquisition of Stanley Access Technologies and assets related to the automatic entrance solutions business from Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. for $900 million in cash. Access Technologies is a North American manufacturer, installer and service provider of automatic doors, generating approximately $340 million in net sales in 2021.
• Sentry Interactive, a US provider of advanced digital detection and communication platforms, acquired Doordeck, a UK-headquartered innovator in cloud-based access control and mobile credentials while also aggregating across and integrating to the majority of existing access control systems.

Smart Home

• Home security company ADT has purchased Portland, Oregon startup IOTAS, whose smart home technology enables apartment building renters to control lights, thermostats, locks and other wireless features. 

Energy Management

• Building automation giant, Johnson Controls announced the acquisition of Asset Plus, a specialist provider of energy reduction and zero-carbon measures for the UK public sector. Asset Plus complements Johnson Controls’ specialist public sector services, having been appointed as a supplier under five key procurement frameworks, including the Re:Fit Programme and the Carbon and Energy Fund (CEF).
• Measurabl, a US provider of ESG data management solutions for commercial real estate, announced the acquisition of Hatch Data, a US provider of a smart building platform designed to decarbonize real estate portfolios. Hatch Data extends Measurabl’s platform to include real-time, building-level insights, project recommendations, and tools that directly help customers improve ESG performance and meet carbon and compliance targets.
• Deepki, the French startup provider of an ESG data intelligence platform for the real estate sector, acquired UK-based competitor, Fabriq, as part of its ambitious international growth strategy.

Building-to-Grid (B2G)

• AutoGrid, a Silicon Valley startup based in Redwood City, California, offering a software platform applying AI to flexible energy resource optimization, announced in May that it had signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Schneider Electric. This acquisition is a culmination of a series of partnerships with Autogrid over eight years since 2013.
• GreenSync, the Australian provider of cloud-based DER interoperability software has recently been acquired by CrescoNet, the newly established technology development arm of the Australian and New Zealand smart metering and energy data business, Intellihub Group.

This article was written by Daphne Tomlinson, Senior Research Associate at Memoori.