Well it's partly self-fulfilling isn't it. Amazon isn't going to do early stage investments in companies that aren't open to the prospect of eventually being ac

Well it's partly self-fulfilling isn't it. Amazon isn't going to do early stage investments in companies that aren't open to the prospect of eventually being acquired by Amazon. So of course the emails about the acquisition are going to include the CEO of Ring being very open to the acquisition, you just don't get into this situation otherwise. It's also a smart move on the part of the CEO since you need to have an exit plan and the smart home market is in extreme danger of being commoditized over time - I'm sure that people have seen the struggle of GoPro and learned some lessons. Not every company is going to become a S&P500 company, and it's good strategy to be aware of that and plan for realistic outcomes. However, as you can see - he leaves on the table the option of an IPO which is basically sending the message "I would love to work with you... but I have another option if you don't give me what I want." That's a pretty standard negotiating tactic.