ASG acquires National Alarm Systems, moves into new region Brings $300,000 in RMR, allows ASG to ‘catapult growth’
By Martha Entwistle
Updated Wed February 5, 2014
BELTSVILLE, Md.—ASG Security has acquired a “platform for hyper-growth” with the Jan. 31 acquisition of National Alarm Systems of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a buy that will propel the super-regional to $10 million in RMR by the end of 2014, Joe Nuccio, ASG CEO, told Security Systems News.
National Alarm Systems has 9,000 customers, divided fairly evenly between residential and commercial accounts and it has a successful homeowners association business. The deal brings nearly $300,000 in RMR, bringing ASG's total RMR to $9.2 million. Thirty-six employees, including National's co-owner, Bob Swayman, who will serve as VP and GM of ASG's new South Florida region, will join ASG.
Why is $10 million an important benchmark?
“It's not the $10 million number that's important, it's [ASG's] percent of growth year over year. [We're able to continue to grow at that rate] even at our size,” Nuccio explained.
ASG likes to enter a new region every year. Those new regions generally start with an acquisition, but when ASG moves into that region it concentrates on internal growth, he said.
“We grow at 12 to 14 percent a year because we continue to develop our internal growth engine,” Nuccio said.
He pointed out that 76 percent of the $900,000 of RMR that ASG added in 2013 was generated by organic sales.
Nuccio said ASG's success in growing two newer regions—Oklahoma and Louisiana—make him confident that ASG can “catapult growth” in South Florida.
ASG CFO Ralph Masino said that the Louisiana region's RMR grew by 90 percent since ASG moved into the region in November 2012. Likewise, it has tripled RMR in Oklahoma since moving into that region in December of 2011.
“Internal growth is really the key for us,” Nuccio said.
By bringing new resources to new regions, in the form of employees, marketing and sales expertise, as well as new products and services, “We think we can continue to grow at this pace for some time,” Nuccio said.
Also in January, ASG upped its credit facility to $300 million.
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