Italian smart home company Nice acquired Nortek Security & Control from Melrose Industries in a deal valued at $285 million, said the buyer Tuesday. The purchase includes Nortek’s broad portfolio of brands for the custom installation market: 3Gig, Elan, Linear, MightyMule, Proficient, SpeakerCraft, Gefen, Xantech, Panamax, Furman, numera and IntelliVision. The move shores up Nice’s presence in North America, doubles its R&D capacity, and will accelerate development of platform-based integrated solutions, it said. Nice, whose North America brand portfolio includes Abode, Nice and HySecurity, now employs over 3,000 people across five continents, has 16 R&D centers and manufacturing facilities and has partners and customers in over 100 countries, said Nice Chairman Lauro Buoro. Business will be conducted as usual throughout 2022, the company said. Nice's North American organization will immediately begin collaborating with the Nortek Security & Control team on blending portfolios and operations “to emerge fully integrated in 2023.” It’s the second major acquisition of a major U.S. custom-channel business announced by a European firm recently. Assa Abloy agreed to buy Spectrum’s Kwikset, Baldwin, Weiser, Pfister and National Hardware brands last month for $4.3 billion (see 2109150056).

Cox Communications closed on buying the commercial services segment of fiber infrastructure provider Segra, it said Tuesday. Cox incoming President Mark Greatrex said the deal means an expanded geographical presence, more network capacity and more business services. Cox said the Segra brand will continue as a stand-alone Cox business. The deal was announced in April (see 2104270042).

Qualcomm and investment firm SSW Partners agreed to buy Veoneer in a transaction valued at $4.5 billion, after Veoneer scuttled its previous acquisition agreement with Magna. Veoneer, an automotive tech company, canceled an Oct. 19 meeting previously scheduled to approve a purchase agreement by Magna. At closing, SSW Partners will acquire Veoneer’s outstanding stock and then sell the Arriver business to Qualcomm, while retaining Veoneer’s Tier-1 supplier businesses, said the buyers Monday. Qualcomm will incorporate Arriver's computer vision, drive policy and driver assistance assets into its Snapdragon Ride advanced driver assistance unit to help it deliver an ADAS platform for carmakers and Tier 1s, it said. Magna waived its right to submit a revised proposal after the Veoneer board decided the Qualcomm-SSW offer was a “superior proposal,” they said. The deal is expected to close next year.

Zoom and Five9 “mutually terminated” their July merger agreement after Five9 shareholders rejected the $14.7 billion all-stock transaction at a special meeting, said both companies Thursday in separate announcements. “The contact center market remains a strategic priority for Zoom, and we are confident in our ability to capture its growth potential,” said CEO Eric Yuan. Zoom will maintain its existing contact center partnerships with Five9, Twilio and other companies in the space, he said. Five9 “had the opportunity to engage extensively with our shareholders since our transaction announcement,” said CEO Rowan Trollope. “We greatly appreciate their feedback and confidence in Five9’s future prospects and share their views regarding the significant potential for value creation as a standalone company.”

ViacomCBS closed on its purchase of the Chilean broadcast network Chilevision from AT&T's WarnerMedia, said the buyer Thursday. The deal was announced in April (see 2104050031). Transaction terms were not disclosed.

Sony Interactive Entertainment agreed to buy Bluepoint Games and make it part of PlayStation Studios, said the buyer Thursday. Bluepoint’s history of developing games for the PlayStation platform spans more than 15 years, and its experience “will aid in the development of future PlayStation Studios properties,” said Sony. Bluepoint’s most recent title, the PS5 remake of Demon’s Souls, sold more than 1.4 million copies through mid-September since its release with the console’s Nov. 12 launch.

Valens Semiconductor, originator of HDBaseT, will begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange with the closing of its $1.16 billion “business combination” with special purpose acquisition company PTK, said the companies Wednesday. PTK shareholders approved the transaction in a special meeting Tuesday, they said. The SEC declared the transaction effective last month (see 2108300003). Valens reported a $3.7 million net loss for Q2 on revenue of $17.5 million, an increase of 9.2% from the 2020 quarter.

The FTC is changing how it investigates mergers and acquisitions, including making second requests accessible to all commissioners, the Competition Bureau announced Tuesday. Commissioner Rohit Chopra said his motion to “better secure ‘second requests’ and other information related to merger investigations” got 5-0 approval from the commission. “Commissioners have long been left in the dark on key documents,” Chopra tweeted. “For years, I was denied access to ‘second requests’ and other deliberative information, even as outside parties and FTC alumni got inside info.” Commissioner Christine Wilson recently tweeted about the lack of access. Before the change, access to second requests was granted only at the discretion of the chair. Staff will now provide the full commission with access through a secure system. The FTC is expanding the scope of market competition factors in second requests, potentially involving labor markets, cross-market effects and investment firm activity. Companies now must provide “certain foundational information,” including specifics on business operations and data maintenance, before submitting requests for modifications. The bureau said the changes are an attempt to make the best use of limited resources amid a recent surge in M&A filings.

LG Electronics' board OK'd buying 64% of vehicle cybersecurity risk assessment provider Cybellum for $140 million, said LG Thursday: This will boost LG’s cybersecurity capabilities and speed efforts to become an “innovation partner for future mobility." LG committed to a simple agreement for future equity to invest an additional $20 million in Cybellum when the deal closes in Q4.

Panasonic completed its acquisition of the 80% share of supply chain software company Blue Yonder that it didn’t buy in July 2020, said the Japanese parent company Friday. It announced the $7.1 billion transaction April 23 with the goal of using Blue Yonder to enhance its response to COVID-19-induced supply chain management disruptions. Panasonic’s U.S. subsidiary will run Blue Yonder through its connected solutions business. It will keep the Blue Yonder branding and leadership team intact, it said.