Wayne Alarm makes acquisition, gains about 8,700 accounts

LYNN, Mass.—Wayne Alarm Systems, a full-service security company based here, on Jan. 3 finalized its acquisition of Lexington Alarm Systems, based in Bedford, Mass.

“Over the past few years … we've decided that instead of being wider we want to be deeper,” Ralph Sevinor, president of Wayne Alarm Systems, told Security Systems News.

The deal brings Wayne 8,700 accounts within its footprint, making the company's total number of accounts just fewer than 20,000. Lexington's customer base is about 85 percent residential. “This way we can compete more with the bigger guys,” Sevinor said. He estimated that Lexington Alarm was, by revenue, about 60 percent of Wayne Alarm's size.

Lexington Alarm Systems is a 45-year old company and Wayne plans to maintain the brand, which will continue to operate out of its current facility. Mike Lordan, VP of Lexington Alarm Systems, will lead the brand.

This purchase will increase the quality levels at Wayne Alarm, Sevinor said; “It allows us to have more techs, more sales people, a great brand name, and do a better job for the consumer.” Wayne Alarm will gain more than 20 employees, bringing the company's total employee count to about 105.

“It really is like a merger of the two companies,” Brandon Freedman, Wayne Alarm's director of marketing, told SSN. “We're trying to learn from them and they're trying to learn from us, so it's really going to be a great marriage between the two.”

Wayne Alarm Systems used Eastern Bank as a lender in this deal. “It is the first time that we've used an outside bank to finance a project,” Sevinor said, adding that Eastern Bank was “fantastic to work with.”

Eastern Bank announced its entrance into the security alarm lending space in November 2017 and now has a unit dedicated to the industry. Eastern Bank has also provided Wayne Alarm with a line of credit for future acquisitions, Sevinor said.

Wayne Alarm involved its management team in the acquisition process. “We wouldn't have done this if our management team was not 100 percent behind it,” Sevinor said. “Our people were involved from the start and they're very excited about it as well. That's why I think, in some respects, we've done things a bit differently here.”

As 2018 opens, Wayne Alarm Systems is entering its 50^th year. The company's current plans for the year are to focus on development following the Lexington purchase, Wayne's GM Jeff Kahn told SSN, “and then we could look for other opportunities [at the] end of the year or into 2019.”