SALT LAKE CITY — Owners of Provo-born Vivint Smart Home are putting the company on the auction block, taking a dual-track approach that could lead to the company being sold outright or taken public in an IPO effort.
The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
New York City-based Blackstone Group, one of the largest private equity firms in the world with over $370 billion in assets under management, paid $2 billion for Vivint in 2012. Sources told the Journal that the company's valuation, including debt, could top $6 billion, three times what Blackstone paid just five years ago.
Vivint began life in 1999 as APX Alarm Systems, a company co-founded by former BYU student Todd Pedersen. In 2011, the company rebranded as Vivint and expanded into the emerging "smart home" technology market. The company specializes in smart home monitoring and products like thermostats, security/doorbell cameras and other devices as well as a mobile phone app that syncs with a proprietary operating platform. Vivint officials say their platform technology can learn and adapt to a user's habits, as well as make recommendations like maintenance reminders and energy-saving strategies.
With 4,000 employees in Utah, Vivint is the largest tech employer in the state and has 11,000 employees worldwide. Last year the company earned revenues in excess of $750 million and currently has 1.2 million active customers. While once relying primarily on door-to-door sales to drive growth, the company has recently expanded into the brick-and-mortar retail market and is close to completing a rollout in partnership with Best Buy in over 400 of the computer electronic giant's stores across the country. A number of tech news outlets have recently reported Vivint products will also become available at about 80 U.S. stores operated by cellphone and internet service provider Sprint.
Vivint Smart Home officials declined to comment on reports of the potential sale/IPO. A Deseret News request for comment from a Blackstone Group representative did not receive an immediate response.