Westec records new funds

IRVINE, Calif.--Westec InterActive is expected to announce today that it nabbed $20 million in new financing to help its expansion plans along. New investor Clarity Partners provided $17.5 million in the round, with the remaining piece coming from company owner Jerry Vento. Proceeds will be used for technology enhancements, new services and acquisitions. The company is now working on adding a second central station. The location of the new facility has yet to be announced, although it will be somewhere in the Midwest. Vento, through his full-service security firm, Level 5 Security, acquired the interactive video monitoring company from Secom Co., Ltd. last fall. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, although it was an all-cash transaction. Exactly like in that deal, Vento declined to discuss the company's valuation for this financing. "We can meet and exceed investors expectations, this is something I'm used to," he said. Vento did just that in his previous venture, TeleCorp. PCS. In 2002, AT&T Wireless purchased the provider of digital wireless communication services for $5.7 billion. Mitch Johnson, president at Westec, said the next 30 days will be a busy time for the company as potential deals are evaluated. "We're in a very aggressive acquisition mode right now," he said. "We're very open and receptive to talk with other interactive companies." Vento said the new funds will better focus the company, rather than broaden its business approach. "Clarity is really on board with my strategy to add more consistency with what Westec does everyday, which is video monitoring."