Honeywell places its U.S. security monitoring unit up for sale

April 3, 2003 MINNEAPOLIS - Honeywell has announced plans to sell what it calls its U.S. security monitoring business in a deal that will not only include the sale of its residential installation and monitoring business, but also marks its exit from the installation of smaller commercial security systems. Company officials confirmed this week plans to sell the business, which employs 850 people nationwide. The transaction does not include its manufacturing companies, such as Ademco, or its ACS business services group, which focuses on high-end commercial systems, such as life safety, HVAC and other building controls. The announcement comes more than two years after Honeywell first said it would sell the division, but then took it off the block. At that time, the U.S. security monitoring business employed 1,400 people who worked in 62 locations, according to a story that appeared in Security Systems News in September 2000. Today, company officials say the business unit operates out of 40 branches and serves 140,000 customers. “ Honeywell has been trying to sell that business for years,” said analyst Joe Freeman of J.P. Freeman Co. Instead, Honeywell will “focus investments on the higher growth security products and the high-end integrated building solutions business,” said Shawna Todd, spokesperson for Honeywell. Craig Leiser, president of consulting firm The Kismet Group, said by making this decision, “Honeywell is capitalizing on its strength.” He expects the company will be able to go head-to-head with the likes of Siemens and Diebold and tap into technology available from Honeywell.