Google has raised the temperature in one small corner of the deal world.
The company announced on Monday a $3.2 billion deal for Nest Labs, which makes Internet-connected devices like thermostats and smoke alarms. That seemed like a rich price for a three-year-old company that has annual revenue estimated at $300 million.
And on Tuesday, the stock of several companies with related technologies surged in trading, apparently on hopes that they, too, could become attractive takeover targets.
Shares of the Control4 Corporation, which provides automation for the home, rose 27 percent, to $23.50, at midday. Tavis McCourt, an analyst with Raymond James, says Control4’s valuation appears “reasonably attractive,†noting that its technology is more interoperable than Nest’s, Bloomberg News reported.
Control4, based in Salt Lake City, is funded by Foundation Capital, Thomas Weisel Venture Partners, Frazier Technology Ventures, vSpring, Mercato Partners and Best Buy Capital. It went public last August at $16 a share.
The Echelon Corporation, which developed an energy control networking platform, also appeared to get a Google boost, with its shares rising 24 percent.
