Securicor, Group 4 Falck reach merger agreement
By Chelsie Woods
Updated Thu February 26, 2004
February 26, 2004
LONDON - After weeks of talks and speculation among security analysts, Securicor and Group 4 Falck announced this week plans to merge their security businesses.
The merger would create one of the world’s largest security companies, second only to Securitas with an estimated $7 billion in sales. The newly created company would be known as Group 4 Securicor and employ 340,000 people in 108 countries.
Before the deal can move forward, Group 4 Falck needs to spin-off its global solutions and rescue and safety services unit. Its security and service business would then combine with Securicor to create a new company traded on both the London and Copenhagen stock exchanges.
But it may not be smooth sailing ahead. The deal is meeting opposition from the Service Employees International Union, which intends to file a complaint with the European Union regulators citing labor issues, according to Jeff Cappella, spokesperson for the SEIU.
Cappella claimed that Group 4 Falck’s guard firm Wackenhut Corp. has a history of violating labor laws, such as retaliating against employees interested in joining a union.
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