Security Networks secures new capital

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--Industry watchers should expect to see more acquisition and account-purchasing activity from Security Networks in the coming months. The full-service residential security company finalized in April a new three-year $50 million credit facility with Fortress Credit Corp., of New York, which will "allow us to request an increase of up to an additional $50 million during the term," said Ken Wiesenfeld, chief financial officer for Security Networks. The term may be extended for one year, he said. "Part of the proceeds were used to repay in full an existing lending facility," he explained. The remainder will be used for "bulk acquisitions and for growing our affiliate program where we buy accounts on an ongoing basis." The company has made four acquisitions in the last 17 months. It does business in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas in the Southeast and out of Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., in the Middle Atlantic. It moved into the Midwest for the first time late last year with the acquisition of a Chicago security company. "Obtaining this credit facility was an important step in growing our business in accordance with the plan created by Rich Perry [Security Networks chief executive officer] and our equity provider," Wiesenfeld said. Perry has said that his plan is within five years to build a business with $5 million in recurring monthly revenue in major markets in the East. In February, Perry reported that his group was "just shy of $1 million in RMR."