NEW YORK — Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) has announced the sale of access control solutions manufacturer Guardian Access Solutions (Guardian), a portfolio company of Brixey & Meyer Capital (BMC), to Dallas-based private equity firm CenterOak Partners (CenterOak).
BGL’s Services investment banking team served as lead financial advisor to Guardian in the transaction. The specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Guardian provides design, installation, service and preventative maintenance solutions for all major access control systems, including commercial gates, overhead doors, parking systems and access control/CCTV.
Guardian’s “ability to serve its diversified base of commercial and high-net-worth residential customers across the complete access control spectrum, coupled with its reputation for exceptional service quality and reliability, has propelled the company to be a market leader in the southeastern U.S.,” according to the announcement.
The company has locations in Atlanta; Knoxville, Tenn.; Memphis, Tenn.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Orlando, Fla.
Under BMC’s ownership, Guardian “experienced rapid growth through key organic initiatives, in addition to executing on an established M&A playbook, including three complementary acquisitions since 2021 within the highly fragmented access control industry,” the announcement says.
Why CenterOak Acquired Guardian Access Solutions
CenterOak Partners is a private equity firm with a focus on making control-oriented investments in middle-market companies organized or operating in the United States. The firm specializes in three key industry sectors: industrial growth, consumer and business services.
The acquisition “marks a transition into Guardian’s next phase of growth under CenterOak, which will support the company through continued investments in both organic and inorganic growth initiatives as Guardian expands its leading presence in the access control industry throughout the southeast and nationally,” the announcement says.
