Video monitoring firm makes second acquisition

January 9, 2003 FITCHBURG, Mass. - A remote video monitoring company that dominates the multi-family dwelling market has been bought by another video monitoring firm, based here. The acquisition of Remote Video Patrol, a three-year-old company based in Denver, was the second purchase in 2002 for VideoMinex, a company on the acquisition path with hopes of becoming the dominant provider in the video arena, said Mike May, VideoMinex president. Formed in late 2001, the company’s first purchase came in early 2002 when it bought Houston-based Interstar Systems, another video-based company with a monitoring center. Along with the physical location and employee base, the cornerstone of that acquisition was a proprietary software platform that funnels signals from existing burglar and fire alarm systems as well as video and audio into one interface to be viewed by central station personnel. Remote Video Patrol, which bills its services as a guard replacement solution to the multi-family housing market, will continue to operate as wholly owned subsidiary of VideoMinex, company officials said. That company’s technology brings together video and audio command technology. “We will continue to use the brands, but we anticipate ultimately consolidating them into some type of overreaching brand,” May said. The Interstar software will serve as the basic platform of VideoMinex’s monitoring services, with concepts from Remote Video Patrol’s technology woven into the platform. From that, VideoMinex plans to develop additional applications for its video technology both inside and outside the security realm, May said. At press time, the company was expecting to close on two additional acquisitions over the next few months.