Supply chain services supplier Ingram Micro continued its acquisitions binge, saying Wednesday it completed the buy of the Peruvian and Chilean businesses of Tech Data, the Florida-based wholesale distributor of technology products. Terms weren’t disclosed. Ingram said acquiring those businesses from Tech Data would add more than $270 million annually to its revenue line and that the acquisition “complements” its existing holdings in Peru and Chile. The deal also “immediately delivers increased reach and scale in the region, which has consistently been a top performer for the company,” Ingram said. Earlier this month, Ingram announced the introduction of Anovo, a Europe-based provider of repair services for smartphones and set-top boxes across Europe and Latin America (see 1503030020).

Sky has invested an additional $5 million in 1 Mainstream, a California-based over-the-top company, Sky said in a Tuesday announcement. Sky regards 1 Mainstream as “a pioneering OTT startup company that operates an automated platform for the distribution of linear and on-demand video to a wide range of internet-connected devices,” it said. Sky invested $2 million about 18 months ago in 1 Mainstream, whose platform Sky said “provides powerful automation technology to enable content companies to launch OTT services across multiple platforms.” Since its first investment in 1 Mainstream, Sky has used 1 Mainstream’s platform to “significantly broaden distribution of its OTT services such as Sky News and NOW TV to its growing digital audience,” Sky said.

The FCC should reject Comcast's planned buy of Time Warner Cable because it threatens competition and goes against antitrust and communications laws, said the Stop Mega Comcast Coalition in an ex parte notice filed at the FCC in docket 14-57 Friday and not posted at our deadline. Comcast takes advantage of the device market by depriving customers of access to competing services, including blocking access to authenticated HBO content on Sony PlayStation devices via the HBO Go application, it said. The coalition said Amazon Fire TV launched the HBO Go app in December, which still remains unavailable for Comcast customers because of ongoing negotiations between the companies. It also said Comcast customers with Roku boxes were denied access to HBO Go and Showtime apps until December. Comcast’s X1 Platform would be the default streaming system for many broadband subscribers if the deal is approved, which would give Comcast/TWC “extraordinary power” over content available to consumers and force competing devices to follow its terms to enter the market, the coalition said. Comcast didn't abide by its commitments under the NBCUniversal deal, so the Comcast/TWC should be rejected, the coalition wrote in a blog post Friday. Comcast didn’t comment. Stop Mega Comcast Coalition members include Dish Network, ITTA, the LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition, National Consumer Law Center, NTCA and Public Knowledge.

Hewlett-Packard agreed to buy Aruba Networks in a deal worth about $2.7 billion, said an HP news release Monday. It said that puts HP in position to address market trends for next-generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi standards and the push for everything to be mobile-centric. HP said the deal is expected to be completed in the second half of its FY 2015, subject to Aruba stockholder approval, regulatory approvals in the U.S. and other countries, and other customary closing conditions.

Supply chain services supplier Ingram Micro acquired Anovo, a Europe-based provider of repair services for smartphones and set-top boxes across Europe and Latin America, Ingram said Monday. Terms weren’t disclosed, but Ingram said it expects Anovo to contribute more than $300 million in annual service revenue.

Consumer Watchdog called AT&T’s proposed buy of DirecTV anti-competitive and anti-consumer, in a letter it sent Wednesday to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and Attorney General Eric Holder. The deal would lead to “higher prices, less competition and an expansion of the notorious anti-consumer practices that DirecTV currently practices,” said the letter posted Thursday in FCC docket 14-90. Consumer Watchdog said AT&T has failed to show why the purchase is in the public's best interest, and if it's approved the company should be required to discontinue the improper practices and maintain its current rates for at least five years. Among the practices Consumer Watchdog called improper are a mandatory service term of 18 months to two years, charging early cancellation fees and deactivation fees to those customers who cancel early and charging the fees without notifying customers. The group asked the FCC to “ignore the lofty pronouncements of those who have a direct financial interest in the proposed merger and focus instead on the practical impact upon the companies’ customers and the average American family.”

LoopPay, the mobile wallet solutions provider, will become a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics America, the companies said in a Wednesday announcement. Terms weren’t disclosed. "Through this deal, we can significantly accelerate our mobile commerce efforts," Samsung said in a statement. "LoopPay’s outstanding leaders and team have deep-rooted relationships with banks, card networks and merchants that will complement those Samsung has established over the years.” LoopPay’s technology turns existing magnetic stripe readers at the point of sale into “secure, contactless receivers,” the companies said. The technology has the potential to work in an estimated 90 percent of existing POS terminals, with no investment in new infrastructure required by the retailer, they said. Best Buy and Walmart have been retail holdouts on Apple Pay since Apple introduced the service last September. Neither retailer has explained its decision not to support Apple Pay, except to say it lacks near field communications POS terminals in its stores (see 1409150051). “Today is a great day for LoopPay and all those who have supported us over the last few years,” LoopPay CEO Will Graylin said in a Wednesday blog post. LoopPay’s “vision of inspiring consumers to transition from a physical wallet to a truly digital wallet will continue,” Graylin said. “I’m most excited that Samsung shares this vision and has chosen to help change how we shop and pay for goods and services.”

Schlage Lock parent company Allegion is taking an equity stake in iDevices to bolster its position in the Internet of Things, the companies said in a statement Thursday. Allegion will leverage iDevices’ technology platforms and IoT knowledge to accelerate new product development, Allegion President-Americas Tim Eckersley said. Terms weren’t disclosed. Allegion and iDevices said they plan a joint technology agreement, and Allegion will receive an undisclosed minority stake in the company.

The 2015 annual adjustment to the thresholds that trigger automatic FTC and Justice Department review of a merger or acquisition is the smallest in years, said Fletcher Heald wireless attorney Raymond Quianzon on the law firm's blog. The increase from the previous threshold is just half of 1 percent, he said. Under the latest adjustment, federal agencies will review deals where the total value exceeds $305.1 million or where the total value exceeds $76.3 million and one party has total assets of at least $15.3 million and the other party has assets of $152.5 million, he said. This monetary threshold trigger of FTC and Justice review is separate from the FCC review process, which applies to most communications-related deals, Quianzon said. “Once those lines are crossed, the prospect of additional (and considerable) time, expense and hassle to navigate the federal review process is a virtual certainty.” The new thresholds take effect Feb. 20.

Motorola Solutions is investing in speech enhancement developer VocalZoom, Motorola Solutions said Wednesday. It didn’t disclose terms, but said other investors include 3M, Japanese firm FueTrak and OurCrowd. Israeli company VocalZoom has created an optoelectronic microphone that can enhance a speaker’s voice by creating a “virtual cube” so it substantially stands out above background noise. Motorola Solutions said its investment is connected to its plans to enhance public safety and commercial communications. VocalZoom’s technology “is the only technology of its kind that is not affected by any background noise, and has the potential to provide disruptive voice clarity in any condition,” VocalZoom Chairman Yechiel Kurtz said in a Motorola Solutions news release. The technology “has the potential to be the difference of whether a firefighter can communicate at a dangerous fire scene or if a transportation or utility worker can give or receive information in a noisy work environment,” Motorola Solutions Chief Technology Officer Paul Steinberg said in the release.