Protos Security, a portfolio company of Southfield Capital, has completed the add-on acquisitions of Blue Star Security, ControlByNet, and MG Security Services.
Protos is an outsourced provider of security guards and an electronic management system that allows its customers, which include many Fortune 500 companies and small-to-medium-sized businesses, to outsource the onboarding, managing, and tracking of security guards at multiple locations.
Protos, headquartered near Roanoke in Daleville, Virginia, manages thousands of security guard locations in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
Georgia-based ControlByNet, acquired in August 2022, is a provider of remote guarding options and software services that can be accessed 24/7 from any computer or mobile device. New York City-based MG Security Services, acquired in September 2022, provides armed and unarmed security guards (the company employs over 1,200 guards) to commercial real estate, hospitals, property management, education, and financial services clients. Chicago-based Blue Star Security, acquired in September 2022, provides security services consisting of off-duty officers and retired law enforcement officers to Fortune 500 companies and small-to-medium-sized businesses. Blue Star employs over 850 active and retired police officers.
“The strategic acquisition of MG Security adds significant scale to Protos’ direct guard operations and further diversifies Protos’ offering to the marketplace,” said Andy Cook, a partner at Southfield Capital. “MG Security further unlocks growth potential in attractive end markets such as healthcare while expanding the geographic footprint of Protos on a national level. We believe this partnership will create significant value for our clients and will further position us as the industry’s leading provider of security solutions.”
“The strategic acquisition of Blue Star marks the third acquisition for Protos in 2022,” said Brandon Pinderhughes, a principal at Southfield Capital. “As Protos continues to grow through both organic and acquisition channels, we will continue to expand our North American footprint while providing value to the customers and communities we serve.”
Earlier add-on acquisitions by Protos include Texas-based Off Duty Services (September 2021); New York City-based Mulligan Security (December 2020); and New Jersey-based Security Resources (August 2019).
Monroe Capital, which provided Southfield the debt financing for the buy of Protos in February 2019, was the administrative agent and sole lead arranger on a senior credit facility that supported the buys of ControlByNet, MG Security Services, and Blue Star Security.
Monroe Capital (NASDAQ: MRCC) provides senior and junior debt financing to middle-market businesses, special situation borrowers, and private equity sponsors. Investment types include unitranche financings; cash flow, asset-based, and enterprise value-based loans; and equity co-investments. Monroe has $12.7 billion of assets under management across a range of strategies – including direct lending, asset-based lending, specialty finance, opportunistic and structured credit, and equity. The firm was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Chicago with additional offices in Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Naples, New York, San Francisco, and Seoul.
Southfield Capital makes control investments in companies that are active in the outsourced business services sector and have EBITDA of $4 million to $12 million. In April 2021, the firm held an oversubscribed and above hard cap final close of Southfield Capital III LP with $303 million in capital. Southfield Capital was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.
© 2022 Private Equity Professional | December 8, 2022
