LaSalle Capital has sold United American Security to Garda World Security, a portfolio company of Rhone Capital.
LaSalle formed United American Security (UAS) in April 2010 to acquire three security guard services businesses – Industrial Security Services (Cleveland, OH); Leonard Security Services (Virginia Beach, VA); and Eagle Security (Portsmouth, VA). During LaSalle’s nearly 8-year ownership term, UAS completed a total of 22 add-on acquisitions.
Today, United American Security provides unarmed security guard services to customers in the manufacturing, industrial, distribution, corporate, retail, hospitality, and gated community segments. Services provided by UAS include facility patrols, reception, emergency and alarm response, loss prevention and vehicle inspections. The company, led by CEO Stephen Levine, has 26 offices and is headquartered in Raleigh, NC (www.unitedamericansecurity.com). With the closing of this transaction, Mr. Levine will now lead UAS as a division of Garda World.
“Stephen Levine and his team did an excellent job of accelerating UAS’s growth the last three years, as we expanded geographically and integrated several key acquisitions,” said Kelly Cornelis, a Partner at LaSalle Capital. The last three add-ons for UAS were the March 2017 acquisition of Florida State Security Services (West Palm Beach, FL); the April 2017 buy of Top Gun Security & Investigations (Houston, TX); and the May 2017 acquisition of Ft. Knox Protection (DeSoto, TX).
LaSalle Capital makes control investments of $10 million to $20 million in companies with revenues from $20 million to $100 million and EBITDA greater than $3 million. Sectors of specific interest include food and beverage and technology-enabled business services. The firm is currently investing out of its second fund which held a final closing in May 2012 with $205 million in commitments. LaSalle Capital is based in Chicago (www.lasallecapitalgroup.com).
“We have greatly enjoyed the partnership with UAS and wish the team continued success under the Garda World umbrella,” said Nick Christopher, a Partner at LaSalle.
Garda World is one of the world’s largest privately-owned security services providers. In May 2017 Garda was sold by Apax Partners to Rhone Capital, Stephan Crétier (Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer) and other members of the senior management team. Garda World serves clients in countries throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Garda World works with clients in a range of sectors and industries including financial institutions, retailers, governments, humanitarian relief organizations and the natural resources, construction and telecommunications industries. The company is based in Montreal and has 62,000 employees (www.gardaglobal.com).
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | March 26, 2018
