A major merger of electronic security manufacturers in
Europe may be in the works, as Danish security giant Group
4 Falck says it is near a deal to take over British
security company Securicor. The merger of the two companies
would be valued at nearly $3 billion.
Both companies manufacture burglar alarms, fire alarms, access control systems and CCTV systems, and each does some business in North America.
According to the Times of London, Securicor’s CEO, Nick Buckles, has been in talks with Group 4 CEO Lars Norby Johansen for the last two months, trying to work out the deal. Securicor is worth $1.1 billion and has annual sales of $2.4 billion in 50 countries.
The Times reports a hitch in the deal may be potential litigation Securicor faces in the U.S., as it provided security at some of the airports that were used by terrorists in the 9/11 attacks. A Group 4/Securicor operation would have combined sales of nearly $8.3 billion.
