Per Mar acquires Southlake Security

DAVENPORT, Iowa—Per Mar Security Services, a full-service security company based here, on June 1 announced its acquisition of Southlake Security, based in Griffith, Ind.

“We had quite a few customers in the area, but nothing like they had. So, this will make a huge difference to our presence to the … Northwest part of Indiana,” Brian Duffy, president of Per Mar Security Services' electronic security division, told Security Systems News. Southlake Security's office is situated about halfway between Per Mar's locations in South Bend, Ind., and Rockford, Ill., he said.

“We have purchased the building, so, we'll be in that building for the long term,” Duffy said of Southlake's facility. “It's in a pretty heavily trafficked area where I think it's very visible—not too big or ostentatious, just a place for us to operate out of,” he said.

Three technicians joined Per Mar from Southlake.

Per Mar gained 1,800 accounts through the deal, which are about 50 percent residential and 50 percent commercial, according to Duffy. Per Mar's existing account base is about 65 percent commercial, he added. Duffy declined to release financial terms of the deal.

Southlake operated its own monitoring center, Duffy said, and the accounts have already been moved to Per Mar's central station. Less than 100 of the purchased accounts were wholesale, Duffy estimated.

“We reached out to the owner, Dan Barnes, and met him [about] six months ago,” Duffy said. “We had known each other before that, but I think he's been ready to retire and just looking for the right company [to sell to].”