Hagan-led group buys back Langhorne-based LifeShield after DirecTV, AT&T periods of rule

Tom Paine


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Michael Hagen, former CEO and investor in Langhorne-based LifeShield, as well as past CEO of Nutrisystem and internet pioneer Verticalnet, is returning as part of an ownership group that is buying the DIY home security business from AT&T-owned DirecTV, it was announced Thursday. Terms were not disclosed.

LifeShield Was Bought by DirecTV in 2013. DirecTV merged with AT&T in 2015, and AT&T decided LifeShield overlapped with its
own product line and decided to sell it.

The acquiring ownership group, Hawk Capital Partners, is led by managing partner Hagan and partner Jim Mirage, who among other things worked with Hagan at Verticalnet and on the Nutrisystem buyout. No other investments are listed on Bala Cynwyd-based Hawk Capital Partners' website.

LifeShield's press release announcing the deal seemed to emphasize the progress made under DirecTV's period of ownership, rather than the later years under AT&T. Hawk Capital Partners has appointed David Tanzer as the CEO of LifeShield, "where he will be responsible for reestablishing the company's leadership position in DIY wireless home security for the direct-to-consumer market", LifeShield said in its release.

Life Shield is one of several Philly-area companies competing in the emerging smart home market. Others include Comcast, Ring (which inherited most of Zonoff's workforce), and StratIS).