YARMOUTH, Maine—As 2010 draws to a close the editors at Security Systems News take a look back and see what the most read stories of the year were. What was making the news? What were you most interested in knowing?
Below is a non-sequential, categorized rundown of the top 10 most read stories on our site from Jan. 1 to Dec. 11, followed by a linked top 10 list.
DALLAS—With the goal of growing its national accounts operation exponentially, Protection One CEO Tim Whall announced at the ASIS show that the entire national accounts group had been moved under one roof, in the neighboring town of Irving, Texas.
LAWRENCE, Kan., and CHICAGO—Equity firm GTCR announced today the acquisition of Protection One, the second-largest security alarm company in North America, now that ADT and Broadview have combined. Our lead story has the ins and outs of the whys and whos, including interviews with ProOne CEO Richard Ginsburg, Michael Barnes, John Mack, and principal of GTCR David A. Donnini.
LAWRENCE, Kan., and CHICAGO—Jim Covert and Tim Whall will be back in the security business following the close of a $828 million deal, announced today, where private equity group GTCR acquires Protection One.
LAWRENCE, Kan.—Three days after the largest security company (ADT) announced it was buying the second-largest alarm company (Broadview Security), Protection One, the third largest alarm company, announced it is exploring its strategic alternatives, including a sale of the company.
LAWRENCE, Kan.—You certainly can’t fault Protection One for subtlety in its advertising. Web banners went up all over the industry last month with a simple message: “We’re buying.”
TOPEKA, Kan. - The long saga of the sale of Protection One ended in mid-February, when former parent company Westar Energy finalized its sale to New York-based investment firm Quadrangle Group LLC. Quadrangle paid Westar $122 million for Protection One, which comprises more than 2,300 employees and more than a million commercial and residential customers, and all of its debt. Westar acquired the company in 1997 for $320 million. For Richard Ginsburg, president and chief executive officer of Protection One, after 14 months of rumors about the company's future, the completion of the sale is a relief.
