Archive: June 2011
Devcon updates its look
June 30, 2011Martha Entwistle
HOLLYWOOD, Fla.—Devcon Security has a new look to go with its new national presence.
This super-regional security company, which has gone national in the past year, will begin a rebranding effort as of next Monday.
Spearheading the effort is Kristin Clark, Devcon VP of marketing. Clark is well acquainted with rebranding efforts having come to Devcon from Brink's/Broadview where she was director of media and market planning. There, among other duties, she spearheaded the brand change from...
Newly rebranded Bates Security acquires
June 30, 2011Tess Nacelewicz
LEXINGTON, Ky.—Bates Security, a Honeywell First Alert Professional Authorized Dealer based here, recently acquired Winchester Security in the nearby community of Winchester.
The acquisition—which netted Bates just under 300 mostly residential accounts—is the third for the company in about a year, general manager Jeremy Bates told Security Systems News.
Acquisitions aren't the only new development for Bates Security. Bates said the company rebranded in May from its former name,...
Door knocking in Hawaii generates concerns
June 30, 2011Tess Nacelewicz
HONOLULU—After hearing complaints that summer-sales-model companies in Hawaii this summer are using deceptive sales practices, the Hawaii Burglar and Fire Alarm Association decided to warn homeowners itself.
Members recently talked to a local television station about reports they say they've had from customers and others about door-knocking companies using unethical sales techniques.
“We just decided that was the best way to get the word out to the public,” association vice president...
Kessler on the Stanley/Niscayah numbers
June 30, 2011Martha Entwistle
NEW YORK—Stanley Black & Decker definitely upped the ante with its $1.2 billion bid, announced this week, for Niscayah. It's a bid that's been called generous by some, but is Stanley offering a premium price?
Imperial Capital's Jeff Kessler calls the Stanley bid “not cheap, but not expensive.”
The bid comes in at 31x RMR, but as Kessler points out, “that's not a very meaningful metric because only 22 percent of Niscayah's RMR is monitoring, the rest is maintenance and service...
With Cisco certification, Interface Security Systems poised for growth
June 30, 2011Martha Entwistle
ST. LOUIS—Following record growth during the recession-plagued years of 2008-2010, Interface Security Systems executives believe that their company today stands at the brink of another huge growth spurt.
In a milestone that ISS CEO Michael Shaw calls “a huge breakthrough,” Shaw announced June 20 that ISS has been certified as an Advanced Managed Services Channel Partner by Cisco. In July ISS will begin marketing its Secure Managed Cloud Services through a special Cisco program.
What...
This Blog's on Fire (And Other Stuff)
Honeywell launches easy-to-install bridge from home security to home automation
June 29, 2011Tess Nacelewicz
Honeywell today released a new product that the company says will meet the needs of millions of customers who want to add very basic, affordable home automation features to their home security systems.
Here's what the company said in today's release of its 5800ZBRIDGE device: “The newest member of Honeywell's 5800 Series wireless devices, the 5800ZBRIDGE is an easy-to-install product that enables Honeywell security systems to control up to four Z-Wave devices. It can automatically set back...
Shut down by Securitas Direct, Stanley is new Niscayah suitor
June 28, 2011Martha Entwistle
Very interesting dealings in the past few days with Niscayah, Securitas and Stanley Black & Decker.
On May 16, Niscayah's former parent company announces it wants to buy the company back for $907 million. At that time, Securitas CEO Alf Goransson was quoted as saying during a press conference that in hindsight, selling off Niscayah in 2006 wasn't such a hot idea. The reason: to compete with other guard companies like G4S, Securitas really does need the integration and monitoring capabilities. Plus,...
Stanley makes $1.2 billion cash bid for Niscayah
June 27, 2011Martha Entwistle
NEW BRITAIN, Conn.—Stanley Black & Decker, parent company of Stanley CSS, announced June 27 that it made a $1.2 billion all-cash bid for commercial security integrator and monitoring company Niscayah. The bid is supported by the Niscayah board of directors, which announced it unanimously recommends that shareholders accept the public offer.
The $1.2 billion offering price is higher than the $907 million stock bid made by guarding giant Securitas, which is based in Sweden and is the former parent...
SCTNow raises awareness, funds, at ESX
June 24, 2011Martha Entwistle
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Representatives from Stop Child Trafficking Now (SCTNow) had a booth on the show floor of ESX to raise awareness and funds for their non-profit organization.
“Our strategy is to go after the demand,” said Jason Weis, national sponsorship director, SCTNow. And the demand, sadly, is great, he told Security Systems News.
Child sex trafficking is the second largest criminal enterprise in the world, behind drug trafficking, and 25 percent of the demand comes from the...
iControl gets $50m
June 23, 2011Martha Entwistle
PALO ALTO, Calif.—IControl co-CEOs Jim Johnson and Paul Dawes said they were originally looking for a $30 million investment, but there was so much interest that they got $50 million. They even turned away some investors whose interests didn't align with iControl's strategy, they said.
“There was more interest in investing than we anticipated,” Dawes told SSN on June 20. The success of the round is due to the successful roll out of ADT's Pulse product, the recent iControl/Comcast...