Pro 1 acquires in Southern California Company says acquisition of Custom System Technologies is a good fit
By Tess Nacelewicz
Updated Tue February 21, 2012
LONG GROVE, Ill.—Protection 1 recently acquired Custom System Technologies of Indio, Calif. The 1,100-account acquisition helps expand Protection 1's market share in Southern California, according to Liz Neufeld, VP of billing collections and finance for Protection 1, based here.
“They had some very long-term customers and they had a good, strong relationship with their customers … [and] it fell right in our backyard of the Riverside office,” Neufeld told Security Systems News. She said that Protection 1, one of the largest electronic security companies in the nation with more than 1 million customers, is “very interested in growing our market share though acquisition where possible and where it makes sense.”
The deal, announced in late January, closed Dec. 30, she said. Neufeld declined to reveal the terms of the transaction.
Bryan and April Cochran, the owners of Custom System, founded in 1999, decided to retire from the industry, Neufeld said. “They chose Protection 1 because they really wanted to make sure their customers were taken care of,” she said.
She said Protection 1 will be able to give those customers—a mix of residential and commercial—such amenities as same-day service. Also, she said, “one of the things we definitely will be able to offer to all the residential customers will be our LifeLock partnership.”
Protection 1 announced last summer that it was partnering with LifeLock, an identity-theft protection provider, to help customers protect their identities as well as their homes.
Neufeld said Protection 1 has hired Custom System's service technician and sales representative. That company's Indio office will close and the employees will work out of Protection 1's Riverside location, she said. Custom System had four other employees, but Neufeld said one had previous plans to leave and the others held part-time administrative positions.
She said that with the service tech, “we definitely look forward to making sure he's serving the same customers he's been serving, so we can bring that continuity to the customer.”
Ron Davis and Dorsie Mosher of Davis Mergers & Acquisitions Group represented the seller in the transaction.
The deal, announced in late January, closed Dec. 30, she said. Neufeld declined to reveal the terms of the transaction.
Bryan and April Cochran, the owners of Custom System, founded in 1999, decided to retire from the industry, Neufeld said. “They chose Protection 1 because they really wanted to make sure their customers were taken care of,” she said.
She said Protection 1 will be able to give those customers—a mix of residential and commercial—such amenities as same-day service. Also, she said, “one of the things we definitely will be able to offer to all the residential customers will be our LifeLock partnership.”
Protection 1 announced last summer that it was partnering with LifeLock, an identity-theft protection provider, to help customers protect their identities as well as their homes.
Neufeld said Protection 1 has hired Custom System's service technician and sales representative. That company's Indio office will close and the employees will work out of Protection 1's Riverside location, she said. Custom System had four other employees, but Neufeld said one had previous plans to leave and the others held part-time administrative positions.
She said that with the service tech, “we definitely look forward to making sure he's serving the same customers he's been serving, so we can bring that continuity to the customer.”
Ron Davis and Dorsie Mosher of Davis Mergers & Acquisitions Group represented the seller in the transaction.
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