It’s Official: Protection 1, ASG Security to Merge

Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm, has moved into the home security space with the acquisitions of Protection 1 and ASG Security.

CHICAGO – Private equity firm Apollo Global Management officially announced its move into the electronic security space today with the acquisitions of Protection 1 and ASG Security.

The announcement comes after much speculation that the private equity firm was seeking to acquire the companies.

Apollo, which has roughly $163 billion in assets under management, will merge the two security firms. The newly-created company will continue to operate under the Protection 1 brand and will be led by P1 CEO Timothy Whall.

Prior to joining Protection 1, Whall, who is a member of SSI‘s Industry Hall of Fame, partnered with GTCR to build security alarm businesses Cambridge Protection Indsutries and HSM Electronic Protection Services.

“With Apollo’s style of investing, as well as their access to capital, we know this relationship is a great match for Protection 1,” Whall says. “At the same time, Protection 1 is coming together with ASG Security, which immediately strengthens our market leading position and creates additional breadth and depth in our operations.

Beltsville, Md.-based ASG Security, which earned Security Sales & Integration‘s Installer of the Year accolade in 2010, sells, installs, monitors and services intrusion and fire systems, home automation, access control, and IP/cloud-based video systems to residential and small commercial clients throughout the Eastern and Southwest United States.

RELATED: How ASG Security Achieved $10M in RMR

The firm does $140 million in annual revenues, has 215,000 customers, employs 1,220 people, and operates out of 25 locations with three monitoring centers.

“As Apollo enters the security space, ASG Security is excited to be a part of creating a new platform that is well-positioned to become a significant leader in the industry,” ASG Security President and CEO Joe Nuccio, a member of SSI‘s Industry Hall of Fame says. “ASG’s reputation, coupled with our financial and operational strength, will play an important role in the overall company expansion and value-creation opportunities.”

Romeoville, Ill.-based Protection 1, SSI 2014 Installer of the Year winner, provides intrusion, fire protection, access control, video surveillance, and electronic security alarm monitoring and maintenance services for residential and commercial markets. The firm was purchased by GTCR, a Chicago-based private equity firm, for $828 million in 2010.

Whall notes that both P1 and ASG have a strong commitment to serving consumers, which will help the newly-combined company to be successful.

“ASG has a strong reputation for operational excellence,” Whall explains. “Together our companies will continue to focus on the outstanding customer service for which we are both known.”

Terms of the transactions, which are expected to close in mid-2015, were not disclosed.

Morgan Stanley and Raymond James provided financial advice to Protection 1 and GTCR, and Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal counsel.  Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP provided legal advice to the buyer. Cerdit Suisse, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Jefferies and RBC are providing financing for the deal. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is ASG’s legal counsel, and Goldman Sachs is acting as ASG’s financial adviser.

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