The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has granted Google permission to acquire Nest Labs.
Google and Nest announced the deal last month. Google is acquiring the company, which makes smart home devices like smoke detectors and thermostats, for $3.2 billion in cash.
“Nest’s founders, Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, have built a tremendous team that we are excited to welcome into the Google family,” Google CEO Larry Page said at the time. “They’re already delivering amazing products you can buy right now–thermostats that save energy and smoke/CO alarms that can help keep your family safe. We are excited to bring great experiences to more homes in more countries and fulfill their dreams!”
There have been concerns from consumers and privacy advocates that Google will be getting personal data from Nest devices already in people’s homes. Nest maintains that its privacy policy “clearly limits” the use of customer info to providing and improving Nest’s products and services.
Fadell has since said multiple times that if any changes to the privacy policy do occur, they will be opt-in, and the company will be transparent about them.
TechCrunch reported last week that the Nest team will be running Google’s “core” hardware group, and could be building things like phones and tablets.
It’s unclear exactly when the acquisition will close.
Image via FTC