By Ashley Willis
TULSA, Okla — In an effort to bolster its presence here, Guardian Security Systems Inc. (GSS) purchased 700 residential and commercial accounts from NEOSAT Alarms, also based here. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"We're always looking for high quality accounts to purchase, and we are aggressively looking for bulk acquisitions," GSS Vice President of Dealer Operations Glenn Albers tells SSI. "This deal worked because NEOSAT is an Oklahoma company, which helps us to further expand dominance in the Tulsa market."
Facilitated by Davis Mergers and Acquisitions, GSS will offer interactive services, including platforms from Alarm.com, 2Gig, GE Security and Honeywell's Total Connect 2.0 to the recently acquired accounts.
One factor Albers wants to make clear is that Guardian Security Systems is not the same company as Warrendale, Pa.-based Guardian Protection Services. GSS actually a part of Central Security Group-Nationwide Inc. (CSG), a top security alarm monitoring services provider based in Tulsa.
"I know it gets confusing, but we're Guardian Security Systems in Oklahoma," he says. "We've been in business for more than 30 years in Oklahoma. We have more customers in Oklahoma than any other company. When CSG bought us 12 years ago, they decided to keep the brand around. In Oklahoma, we operate as Guardian Security, but we are CSG."
With roughly 150,000 customers, CSG's customer base is more than 90 percent residential. The company performs business in most of the Sunbelt states stretching from California to Florida. Last year, Summit Partners, a Boston-based growth equity investor, acquired CSG, which gave the company an infusion of capital to grow, Albers says. One of the ways the company plans to expand is through its "Fair and Square" dealer program.
As part of the program, the company maintains that dealers will receive weekly funding and can earn up to 36X in recurring monthly revenue (RMR).
"We have about 230 dealers, but we are aggressively seeking additional dealers to add to the program," Albers says. "We're not exclusive, which is different from other dealer programs. You can sign up with another dealer program if you want. We do that because we know once dealers get the experience that we provide, they won't want to go anywhere else."
Ashley Willis is associate editor for SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION. She can be reached at (310) 533-2419.