Today in Philly Tech History 2/14/2012: Capital One's $9 billion acquisition of Wilmington-based ING Direct USA gets Fed approval

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Five years ago, on February 14, 2012, Capital One's $9 billion acquisition of Wilmington-based Internet bank ING Direct USA won approval from the Federal Reserve, clearing the way for the deal to close within a few days.

The deal, announced in June 2011, featured a Wilmington-bred success story although its parent, Netherlands-based ING Groep NV, had to auction it off to satisfy European banking regulators. ING Direct USA added $80 billion in deposits and 7 million customers to Capital One.

ING Diect's loyal customer base was concerned about how Capital One would change its newly acquired bank. Indeed, some of those changes were just implemented, as ING Direct has been renamed Capital One 360, and ING Direct's famous orange logo was taken down early this month and driven away and replaced with a spiffy new Capital One sign on the headquarters building in downtown Wilmington.




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ADT acquires Langhorne-based LifeShield

Tom Paine


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ADT has acquired LifeShield, the Langhorne-based DIY home security systems company, for about $25 million.

LifeShield, founded in 2004 and a pioneer in DIY home security, has been passed around frequently recently. It was acquired by DirecTV in 2013, and went with DirecTV to AT&T after that acquisition in 2015. At&T had no plan for it, and it floundered there, I understand.

It was sold back to former CEO Michael Hagan (also ex-Verticalnet, Nutrisystem) and his Hawk Capital Partners in 2017.

“As more consumers look for real protection solutions that only ADT can provide, we look for companies that share our passion for security, customer service, and innovation,” said ADT President and CEO Jim DeVries, in a press release . “We are confident that LifeShield’s capabilities and approach, combined with the brand and scale of ADT, will create an opportunity for us to offer our services to a broader cross-section of U.S. households. Together with LifeShield we will be positioned to offer more solutions to a broader base of customers and create increased value for our shareholders as we seek to grow profitability through expanded, yet focused offerings.”

LifeShield recently introduced a video doorbell, and a Google Assistant toolkit.

John Owens will continue to lead LifeShield, and Hagan will serve as an advisor.