Guardian Alarm acquires 2,600 accounts

SOUTHFIELD, Mich.—Guardian Alarm has acquired the accounts of five security firms spread between Michigan and Florida, adding a 70/30 resi/commercial mix of 2,600 monitored accounts to its portfolio. Company president David Goldstein said the acquisition “was the perfect fit for the blend of business Guardian believes in.”

“This really gives us an opportunity to grow even larger in the Lansing area where we already have a strong foothold,” Goldstein said. “We're notifying all the accounts to let them know we're now their company. What we bring them is what we're known for—same day service, updated technology, and a live body to talk to 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year.”

The majority of the new accounts came from Telephone Alarm Systems in Lansing. Guardian will retain TAS' Lansing office.

The other acquired companies are Maximum Security Solutions in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., Midstate Alarm in Midland, Mich., Impyreal Security in Shelby Township, Mich., and Everglades Advanced Security in Hollywood, Fla.

Goldstein noted that Guardian is a family-owned business founded in the 1930s.  When Guardian buys another  “family owned-business, it's with the intention of keeping the same integrity we've always had,” he said. “So we invite the owners to continue to be a part of the business. With TAS, the owner is staying on as an independent sales rep. At Midstate, the owner got tired of the heyday and is staying on as a service tech.”

Guardian director of finance Laurie Mickiewicz agrees. “We've had really good luck with prior acquisitions like this,” Mickiewicz said. “We've had a lot of very happy acquired companies.”

“Keeping the former owners on allows them to go out and talk to the other small businesses in our footprint,” Goldstein said. “Hopefully when they're ready to sell, they'll consider us as a bidder, because we're certainly in the acquisition mode.”