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SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS MAY 2011 www.securitysystemsnews.com RESIDENTIAL SYSTEMS 27 BRIEFS Go!Control wins Product of Year CARLSBAD, Calif.—The Go!Control panel of 2GIG Technologies, a developer of home security and related systems based here, was chosen Security Product of the Year by the TechHome Division of the Consumer Electronics Association. The Mark of Excellence Awards pro- gram honors the best in home electronics products, services, and installed technolo- gy. Each year, manufacturers, distributors, and systems integrators enter to compete in award categories for this honor judged by independent experts within the indus- try. Winners were announced March 18 during the EHX (Electronic House Expo) event in Orlando, Florida. “This is a huge honor,” said Lance Dean, 2GIG co-founder, in a release. “This recognition by the consumer electronics industry’s most important association vali- dates that we have succeeded in making the most user-friendly, feature-rich home automation and security system.” ADT scores at Fenway BOSTON—A large clock featuring ADT’s iconic blue logo is above the right field bleachers in Fenway Park to showcase the fact that ADT is now the official secu- rity provider for the home of the Boston Red Sox, the company said. The Red Sox and ADT Security Services signed an agreement that will include the installation of IP-based cameras and other security equipment throughout Fenway Park to help protect fans, players and team employees, the company said. Sarah Konwiser, group director of marketing services for ADT Commercial, said the company already helps protect many stadiums and sports arenas across the country, but none with the history of Fenway Park—home to the “Red Sox Nation” and its millions of fans. “We believe this sponsorship with the team will be a home run for our business as we help protect the more than 3 million Red Sox fans that visit Fenway Park each year,” Konwiser said in a statement. Vivint named among top Utah companies PROVO, Utah—Vivint, Pinnacle has new financing By Tess Nacelewicz OREM, Utah—Pinnacle Security announced in March that it closed on a new financing package that is one of the largest credit facilities in the industry. “It’s a $275 million financing package that refinances existing debt and provides for several years of growth capital,” Sean Forrest, CFO of the major summer sales model security company, which is based here, told Security Systems News. The deal includes an “oppor- tunity for expansion to $400 million as the company grows,” the company said in a March 24 announcement. Participating in the facility was a group of lenders experienced in the security space and led by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Forrest said. Those lenders “have been supporting the company for For a more robust version of stories in this section, see: WWW.SECURITYSYSTEMSNEWS.COM n many years and have been our lead banks since 2007... It’s great support that our existing banks stayed with us and increased, and we added several new banks.” Forrest declined to reveal spe- cifics on how much of the package was new capital. However, he said, “with the exception of just a handful of credit facilities, this is one of the largest financings that has been done in the security alarm space.” He said it is an affirmation of Pinnacle. “This is really great for the formerly APX Alarm, which rebranded Feb. 1 to high- light its push beyond home security into home automation, announced March 15 that it had won top spots in the Utah Valley Business Quarterly’s “third annual UV50 rankings of Utah Valley’s leading companies. The company ranked No. 2 among Utah County companies for rev- enue performance and No. 11 for its rate of growth,” according to a press release. The magazine’s 2011 30 fastest-grow- ing companies ranking was compiled by the magazine’s editorial team based on companies’ percentage revenue growth over a three-year period from fiscal year 2008 through 2010. The top 10 revenue companies ranking was based on 2010 revenues. business,” Forrest said. “It pro- vides us with long-term funding capacity for our growth, and it’s a measure of the stability of the business and ... a validation of all the improvements that have been made to Pinnacle over the last several years.” He said the company is grow- ing rapidly. “We’re growing at about a 50 percent per year kind of pace,” he said. “We’re add- ing a lot of subscribers on an annual basis and expanding, we’re nationwide in the U.S. and Canada and have a lot of growth potential and this provides us with the capital to keep going at that pace.” SSN Vivint gets $125m boost New funding part of total $690m senior debt financing package By Tess Nacelewicz PROVO, Utah—Vivint, formerly APX Alarm, has completed a $690 million senior debt financing with a group of lenders led by Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group. The new credit facility is an increase of $125 million over its previous financing, according to the home automation/security company, which is based here. “We’re excited,” Vivint COO Alex Dunn told Security Systems News April 5. He said he believes it is “the largest syndicated bank debt deal in the (security) space.” Dunn said that it enables Vivint “to really be focused on the home automation services that we’re selling. It enables us to expand out beyond just our traditional security offerings.” Vivint, formerly APX Alarm, rebranded on Feb. 1 to under- score its expansion into home automation. Then, just last week, the com- pany announced its expanded credit facil- ity. In a March 29 press release, the company said the $125 million increase over the pre- vious financing “pro- vides more flexibility for the company as it to be a record-setting year for the company in terms of new cus- tomer account originations and adoption of our home automation platform.” Vivint, a summer-sales- Alex Dunn expands its penetration into the residential security and home automation markets.” Chris Black, Vivint CFO, said in a statement: “We are extremely pleased with the continued support from all 13 institutions within our bank group. The additional financing will help support what we expect model giant that operates in the United States and Canada, has more than 5,000 employees and serves nearly 500,000 customers, according to the company. In 2010, Dunn said the company had more than 170,000 gross installations. He said the company had about 70 sales teams last year and the average sales-per- rep were the best ever. This year, he said, the compa- ny’s goal is about 200,000 gross installs and it plans to have about 90 sales teams, he said. VIVINT see page 29 American Alarm bolts on By Tess Nacelewicz ARLINGTON, Mass.—American Alarm and Communications announced March 9 that it had acquired a bolt-on in its Worcester branch’s backyard. The acqui- sition of Alert Security Systems of Leicester, Mass. is the latest among nearly 20 buys the company has made in the past two decades. American Alarm has made 17 acquisitions in the past 18 years, according to company president Wells Sampson. He said many have been in the past decade and “especially in the last five years, we’ve put a big push on to accelerate that effort.” The acquisition of Alert Security, located in a suburb of Worcester, Mass., expands American Alarm’s presence in the middle of the state, Sampson said. “We built Wells Sampson Alert Security, founded in 1984 by Edward Nelson, was small compared to American Alarm. It provided security systems installation, service and monitoring for more than 100 homes and businesses in Worcester County. By contrast, 40-year-old our Worcester office origi- nally through a couple of acquisitions and so now we’re trying to strengthen that Worcester, cen- tral Massachusetts operation,” Sampson told Security Systems News. American Alarm is a large inde- pendent security systems inte- gration firm, with 140 employ- ees and about 15,000 residential, commercial and public sector customers in New England. About 60 percent of its business is resi, and it has four branch- es—three in Massachusetts AMERICAN see page 29 Dealer program launched By Tess Nacelewicz LAS VEGAS—Alarm Capital Alliance, a Media, Pa.-based company that purchases accounts from alarm dealers, unveiled a new independent dealer program at the ISC West show here. “We’re just really excited to get the word out to the industry about our program. It allows dealers to run their business like they’ve always run it, with the availabil- ity of additional cash flow,” Kelly Bond, VP of sales and marketing for Alarm Capital, told Security Systems News in an interview before the show. Features of the program include “aggressive multiples,” flexible purchase options, and Bond declined to reveal details on the multiples but said they’re “very competitive.” specialized equipment pricing with the leading manufactur- ers, according to a statement by company president and CEO Amy Kothari in a company press release. The company encourages deal- ers to keep as many of their own accounts as possible, Kothari said in the release. “As it is in our bulk acquisi- tions,” she stated, “the unique element of our program is allow- ing dealers to use their decals and yard signs and truly market their business in their own name. We even have their name on invoices to the subscriber. Our goal is to help independent business own- PROGRAM see page 29