Amazon Buys Ring

With crushing competition looming, Ring, the

home security device company that has had

a near-monopoly on the market for video doorbells,

is selling itself to Amazon for a reported $1.1 billion.

“I’m beyond happy,” said Ring founder Jamie Siminoff

about the deal, “incredibly so.”

Siminoff declined to elaborate before the transaction

officially closes. But Amazon is expected to treat Ring

as it has similar acquisitions like Zappos and Audible,

integrating some elements of Ring with other Amazon-

owned products like its virtual digital assistant, Alexa,

which already transmits commands to Ring’s products.

The Seattle giant will mostly allow Ring to operate

independently, according to a Ring spokesperson.

Siminoff will stay on as CEO of Santa Monica-based Ring.

The deal will not make Siminoff, 41, a billionaire. Ring has

burned through multiple financing rounds, bringing its

investment capital to $209 million and diluting Siminoff’s

ownership stake to 10%. The Amazon deal voids a $300

million venture round Siminoff was set to close in March,

which would have valued the company at $1 billion.

The deal marks a handsome payday for Shaquille O’Neal,

Ring’s pitchman, who struck an agreement in 2016 for an

equity stake in the company in exchange for his

appearances alongside Siminoff in Ring’s TV and online

Commercials.

As recently as last year, Ring had a 97% share of U.S.

video doorbell sales, according to market research firm

NPD Group. The devices let users see video broadcast

through a tiny camera in the doorbell, using an app on

their phone. But this year, a half-dozen copycat doorbells

are hitting the market, some introduced by legacy security

companies like ADT and others by brands owned by

Google and Amazon. In December, Amazon bought Blink,

a maker of wireless home security cameras, and was

planning to introduce a $99 video doorbell in the coming

months, undercutting Ring’s lowest-priced doorbell by $80.