Bold Perennial acquires SIMS

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Bold Perennial, a provider of central station software, announced on Dec. 3 that it acquired fellow software provider Security Information & Management Systems Inc. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Rod Coles, president of Bold Perennial, told Security Systems News that SIMS is a complementary purchase that “allows us to extend our product line.”

There is crossover between the Bold Perennial and SIMS product lines, according to Coles, including that both companies offer central station automation software; however, he emphasized that each offering fits a variety of different companies in the market.

Coles said that the deal benefits SIMS customers by making their software investment more secure. “Not only will their current product be secure, but, if they're interested in looking at other products or expanding what they do, we've got additional products they can look at,” he said.

The purchase of SIMS fits in with Bold's plan for expanding its offerings. “That's why we merged with Perennial, so that we can provide the accounting software, the service software, and now we've got another segment of the market that we can provide automation software to,” Coles said.

Coles is also pleased with the talent that this acquisition brings into Bold Perennial. “Finding people that do what we do is really hard; people that understand software, automation software, and the alarm industry—there's just not that many around. So, we will definitely be using some of their skills,” Coles said.

Discussions of the transaction first started around August, according to Coles, and the deal closed in mid-November. “Obviously, SIMS has been a major player in the industry,” Coles said. “We approached them and gave them a vision of where we want to go and how they can be a part of it, and they were interested in taking part in that.”

Ken Utley, SIMS' founder, will remain as a consultant to ease the transition following the acquisition. “We are excited about the opportunities this new venture provides, and are honored to be a part of the industry-leading Bold Perennial organization,” Utley said in a prepared statement. Bold Perennial doesn't expect other management changes in the immediate future, and the SIMS staff will remain in place in the company's Texas offices, the announcement noted.

Looking into 2019, Coles said that the company will be seeking more acquisitions and strong organic growth while improving its cloud offerings. “We'll be looking to put a huge amount of investment into our cloud infrastructure.”