Motorola Solutions buys video-security company Pelco for $110 million cash

Motorola Solutions announced that it paid $110 million in cash for Pelco, a California-based provider of video-security solutions in a deal that is designed to enhance the growing portfolio of video-related assets held by Motorola Solutions, according to company officials.

John Kedzierski, Motorola Solutions senior vice president and general manager for video security and analytics, said the acquiring Pelco—a company founded in 1957—is the latest in a series of purchases Motorola Solutions has made to bolster its position in the video marketplace.

“Pelco adds to that portfolio, bringing a really great, internationally renowned brand, a global presence and a strong portfolio of cameras to augment the systems choices for our customers,” Kedzierski said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “It’s a company with a storied legacy and history of video security … For a very long time—in our opinion—it was the brand for video-security cameras.”

Motorola Solutions Chairman and CEO Greg Brown echoed this sentiment.

“Video continues to play a more powerful role in enabling safer cities and securing businesses around the world,” Brown said in a prepared statement. “Pelco’s track record of innovation, internationally recognized brand, global channel and customer installed base enable us to further expand our global footprint with enterprise and public safety customers.

Pelco solutions are now part of the Motorola Solutions portfolio of video offerings that include Avigilon, IndigoVision and WatchGuard, each of which have been purchased within the last three years.

“We want to make sure that we have solutions for the entire market,” Kedzierski said. “In the case of the physical-security market, we’ve got two great brands with end-to-end offerings in Avigilon and IndigoVision. We’re extremely happy with what they have. We believe Avigilon is the market leader in applying artificial intelligence to computer vision to execute on our vision, which is to provide customers with outcomes directly—not just security equipment.

“But there are customers that don’t have our Avigilon Control Center or IndigoVision Control Center management system, and we want to have a great option for them, in term of cameras—high-quality, premium, made-in-the-U.S.A cameras, and Pelco will bring that to us and to our customers.”

One notable characteristic of Pelco—as well as the other Motorola Solutions offerings in the company’s video portfolio—is the fact that its products meet the standards of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The current NDAA prohibits federal agencies from deploying solutions from many China-based companies, including video-surveillance manufacturers Hikvision and Dahua.

“Our intention is to leverage not only our solutions but our manufacturing facilities in North America to make Pelco in the U.S. over time,” Kedzierski said. “Pelco’s portfolio today is NDAA-compliant.

“We’re very focused on NDAA-compliant products. We’re proud of the fact that we manufacture all of the Avigilon products in the United States and Canada and control that supply chain. We believe is of utmost importance and a big concern for our customers. In everything we’re doing, we’re focused on making sure that our products are NDAA-compliant.”