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Investments in Other Entities
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2017
Investments [Abstract]  
Investments in Other Entities
Investments in Other Entities

Cost Method Investment in Connected Home Service Provider Partner

We own 20,000 Series A Convertible Preferred Membership Units and 2,667 Series B Convertible Preferred Membership Units of a Brazilian connected home solutions provider, which represents an interest of 12.4% on a fully diluted basis, and was purchased for $0.4 million. On April 15, 2015, we purchased 2,333 Series B-1 Convertible Preferred Membership Units at $23.31 per unit, for a purchase price of $0.1 million, which increased our aggregate equity interest to 12.6% on a fully diluted basis. On April 20, 2016, we purchased an additional 6,904 Series B-1 Convertible Preferred Membership Units at $20.19 per unit, for a purchase prices of $0.1 million, which increased our aggregate equity interest to 14.3% on a fully diluted basis. The entity resells our products and services to residential and commercial customers in Brazil. Based upon the level of equity investment at risk, the connected home service provider partner is a VIE. We do not control the marketing, sales, installation, or customer maintenance functions of the entity and therefore do not direct the activities of the entity that most significantly impact its economic performance. We have determined that we are not the primary beneficiary of the entity and do not consolidate its financial results into ours. We account for this investment using the cost method. As of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the fair value of this cost method investment was not estimated as there were no events or changes in circumstances that may have had a significant adverse effect on the fair value of the investment. The investment is included in other assets in our condensed consolidated balance sheets and was $0.6 million as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016.

Investments in and Loans to an Installation Partner

We own 48,190 common units of an installation partner which represents an interest of 48.2% on a fully diluted basis, and was purchased for $1.0 million. The entity performs installation services for security dealers, as well as subsidiaries reported in our Other segment. Based upon the level of equity investment at risk, we determined at the time of investment that the installation partner was not a VIE. We accounted for this investment under the equity method because we have the ability to exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies of the entity. Under the equity method, we recognize our share of the earnings or losses of the installation partner in other income, net in our condensed consolidated statements of operations in the periods they are reported by the installation partner.

In September 2014, we loaned $0.3 million to our installation partner under a secured promissory note that accrues interest at 8.0% per annum. Interest is payable monthly with the entire principal balance plus any accrued but unpaid interest due on the note's maturity date. This event did not cause us to reconsider our conclusion that the installation partner has sufficient equity investment at risk and therefore was not a VIE. We have continued to account for the investment under the equity method. In the fourth quarter of 2015, accumulated operating losses of our installation partner exceeded its equity contributions, and we began to record 100% of its net losses, which amounted to $0.2 million, against our $0.3 million note receivable. The note was amended in September 2016 to extend the maturity date to September 2018. In our condensed consolidated balance sheets, the $0.1 million note receivable balance was included in other assets as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016.

On December 11, 2015, we purchased an additional 9,290 common units of the same company for $0.2 million, which did not change our proportional share of ownership interest. This event caused us to reconsider our conclusion that the installation partner has sufficient equity investment at risk and we now consider the installation partner to be a VIE. We do not control the ability to obtain funding, the annual operating plan, marketing, sales or cash management functions of the entity and therefore, do not direct the activities of the entity that most significantly impact its economic performance. We have determined that we are not the primary beneficiary of our installation partner and do not consolidate its financial results into ours. We continue to account for the investment under the equity method. Due to the terms of the investment, the investment partner received additional equity contributions, and we returned to recording our share of its earnings or losses against our investment.

We recorded our share of the installation partner's earnings and losses in other income, net in our condensed consolidated statements of operations. We recorded earnings of $5 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2017 as compared to losses of $12 thousand for the same period in the prior year. Our $1.2 million investment, net of equity losses, is included in other assets in our condensed consolidated balance sheets and was $40 thousand as of March 31, 2017 and $35 thousand as of December 31, 2016.

Investments in and Loans to a Platform Partner

We have invested in the form of loans and equity investment in a platform partner which produces connected devices to provide it with the capital required to bring its devices to market and integrate them onto our connected home platform.

In 2013, we paid $3.5 million in cash to purchase 3,548,820 shares of our platform partner’s Series A convertible preferred shares, or an 18.7% interest on as-converted and fully diluted basis. The terms of our investment in the convertible preferred shares included a freestanding option to make an additional investment in the platform partner, or the 2013 Option. The investment in Series A convertible preferred shares was recorded at its initial fair value of $3.5 million and was accounted for as a cost method investment. We also loaned the same platform partner $2.0 million in the form of a secured convertible note, or the 2013 Note. The 2013 Note converted automatically into equity at a 12.5% discount from the price per share at which new shares of capital stock are issued by the platform partner in a qualified financing, or the Automatic Conversion Feature. We recorded the 2013 Option at its initial fair value of $0.2 million. The 2013 Option did not meet the definition of a derivative as it was private company stock that was not readily convertible into cash and therefore, was not measured at fair value at each reporting period. The 2013 Note was accounted for as an available for sale security and was recorded at fair value in marketable securities at an initial fair value of $1.9 million. The Automatic Conversion Feature was an embedded derivative that required bifurcation from the 2013 Note. It was recorded at its initial fair value of $0.1 million in other assets as a marketable security and was remeasured at fair value each reporting period with changes recorded in other income, net.

In 2014, we entered into a Series 1 Preferred Stock purchase agreement with the platform partner and another investor. The other investor invested cash to purchase shares of the platform partner’s Series 1 Preferred Stock. As a result of the purchase, our 3,548,820 shares of Series A convertible preferred shares converted into 3,548,820 shares of common stock, and we hold an 8.6% interest in the platform partner on an as-converted and fully diluted basis. In conjunction with the transaction, we received a $2.5 million dividend that we recorded as a return of investment as it was in excess of the accumulated earnings and profits of the investee since the date of the investment. Additionally, the platform partner repaid the $2.0 million 2013 Note and accrued interest of $0.2 million and as a result, the Automatic Conversion Feature expired. As a result of the transaction, we recorded $0.1 million realized gain on the 2013 Note, our 2013 Option and Automatic Conversion Feature expired and we recognized $0.3 million of impairment losses in other income, net in our consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2014.

Based upon the level of equity investment at risk, the platform partner is a VIE. We have concluded that we are not the primary beneficiary of the platform partner VIE. We do not control the product design, software development, manufacturing, marketing, or sales functions of the platform partner and therefore, we do not direct the activities of the platform partner that most significantly impact its economic performance. We account for this investment under the cost method. As of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the fair value of this cost method investment was not estimated as there were no events or changes in circumstances that may have had a significant adverse effect on the fair value of the investment. As of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, our $1.0 million cost method investment in the platform partner was recorded in other assets in our condensed consolidated balance sheets.