Garda buys Kroll Security International

MONTREAL--Garda World Security announced in early December the purchase of Kroll Security International, an international provider of high-risk security services, from Kroll, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan. As part of the deal, Kroll will enter into a service agreement with Garda for all of its executive and kidnap and ransom service needs. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but KSI reported $43 million in annual revenue and will be combined with the high-risk unit of Garda's 2006 Vance purchase to form GardaWorld, a global risk business unit of Garda's. KSI has headquarters in London, with operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates. Vance president LeMarque Sheppard will head the new operation. "I have a wide array of clients," Sheppard said, "whether they're corporations or government entities, that need support around the world. In the past configuration, I wasn't able to support them around the world. This is a piece of the puzzle." For instance, he said, Vance currently has capabilities in northern Iraq, but with KSI will now be able to cover the entire country. He said roughly 25 percent of Vance's revenues come from high-risk work, "and that's obviously going to increase. Definitely, we see KSI as a platform for growth." Sheppard said he has some concern about the new venture lacking both the Kroll and Vance names moving forward, "but I would like it to be a fresh start with both entities." Garda spokesperson Nathalie de Champlain said it was unlikely that Garda's electronic security division would work with the new GardaWorld internationally. "The electronic security part of Garda is very small and pretty local," she said.