INDIO, Calif. — Protection 1 (P1) has completed a fold-in acquisition of Custom System Technologies (CST) based here. Terms of the deal were not released.
P1 will add about 1,100 customers (60% commercial, 40% residential) to its client base. The company will service the accounts from its branch in Riverside, Calif., P1 Vice President of Finance Liz Neufeld tells SSI.
"We're very interested in acquisitions that make sense for our demographic and our customer base," Neufeld says. "We were definitely attracted to the commercial accounts as we work to expand our national and commercial market share. However, we were really attracted to the overall mix of commercial and residential accounts that were right in our local branch market area. The have a large number of long-term customers that we are looking forward to serving."
Founded in 1999 by Bryan and April Cochran, CST installs and services A/V, CCTV, fire, intrusion and telephone systems to clients in the Coachella Valley, an area near Palm Springs, Calif. According to CST's Web site, its roster of clients include Annenberg Foundation, Coachella Valley Unified School District, Embassy Suites Hotel, Wienerschnitzel Restaurants, among others.
The Cochrans sought a buyer that would provide outstanding customer service and a wide range of services to their existing client base, according to a press statement. The Cochrans will remain with the company for a short period to assist in transitioning their customers before pursuing other interests. Ron Davis and Dorsie Mosher of Davis Mergers and Acquisitions Group Inc. represented the Cochran's in the deal.
As a result of the acquisition, P1 will bolster the Riverside branch's staff with an additional service technician and a sales representative. Among new services that will be promoted to CST customers is identity theft protection through P1's partnership with LifeLock.
P1, which serves more than one million customers and employs more than 2,500 people in more than 60 locations, will continue to look to expand its client base through acquisitions in 2012, according to Neufeld.
"P1 looks forward to expanding our market share through targeted acquisitions of national, commercial and residential accounts," she says. "We have a wide reach across the continental United States, and we're open to anything that's within our branch market areas."