Top 10 mergers and acquisitions in the security industry for 2017

Rapid changes in the physical security market this year have largely overshadowed one arena where change has slowed down in 2017 – mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Although there were no “mega-mergers” as in years past (such as Axis-Canon and Johnson Controls-Tyco, M&A activity still made headlines last year on SourceSecurity.com. In 2017, we wrote about M&A news involving companies such as HID Global, Eagle Eye Networks, ADT, and Honeywell. 

Here’s a look at the Top 10 M&A stories in 2016, as reported by SourceSecurity.com:

1. HID Global acquires Mercury Security

HID Global, a subsidiary of ASSA ABLOY specialising in trusted identity solutions, agreed in 2017 to acquire Mercury Security, an OEM supplier of controllers for physical access control. Mercury Security has over three million controllers installed at tens of thousands of sites worldwide, including at more than 90 of the Fortune 100 companies. Mercury’s intelligent controllers, interface boards and software complement HID Global’s readers, smart cards and mobile IDs for opening doors. 

2. ASSA ABLOY acquires August Home Smart Locks

ASSA ABLOY signed an agreement to acquire August Home, a leading smart lock business in the United States, reinforcing the company’s position in the residential smart door market. The acquisition includes expansion into complementary smart locks, video doorbells and comprehensive solutions for home delivery. August was founded in 2013. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

3. Eagle Eye Networks buys Panasonic CameraManager

One of the largest companies in the cloud video sector, Eagle Eye Networks, aggressively expanded its offerings to the fast-growing market, and its geographic reach, with acquisition this year of Panasonic’s cloud-based video business, including the CameraManager and NuboCam brands. The acquisition expands Eagle Eye Networks’ coverage in the European region, where the CameraManager system is popular, and will include two additional data centres, to be added to EagleEye Network’s existing global network of seven data centres. The acquisition also includes existing CameraManager coverage in Latin America and Asia.

4. dormakaba acquires Stanley Black & Decker’s Mechanical Security

Stanley Black & Decker agreed to sell the majority of its Mechanical Security businesses to dormakaba for $725 million in cash. The sale included the commercial hardware brands of BEST Access, phi Precision and GMT. The remaining part of the Mechanical Security businesses, Sargent and Greenleaf, was not included in the sale.

5. ADT Acquisitions include cybersecurity firm

ADT, provider of security and automation solutions for homes and businesses in North America, announced the acquisition of DATASHIELD, one of the country’s fastest growing cybersecurity companies. Now operating under the brand ADT Cybersecurity, this service is positioned to provide Enterprise and Mid-Market businesses with Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services to combat advanced cyber threats in real time. The acquisition in November closed out a busy year for ADT on the M&A front, including acquisition of commercial security systems integrators Protec in the Pacific Northwest, Gaston Security in Emporia, Va., and MSE Corporate Security in Branchburg, N.J.

6. Honeywell acquires Nextnine

Another big player making a move in the cybersecurity sector was Honeywell, which completed acquisition of Nextnine Ltd., a privately held provider of industrial cyber security solutions. The business is being integrated into Honeywell’s Industrial Cyber Security group and will strengthen Honeywell’s capability to offer multi-vendor, multi-site secure remote access, monitoring and support to protect industrial control systems and critical infrastructure against a growing threat of cyber-attacks.

7. HID Global buys Arjo Systems

In addition to buying Mercury Security, HID Global also expanded its business in physical and digital identity solutions for secure government ID applications in 2017 with the acquisition of Arjo Systems. The move gives HID Global broader capabilities to deploy electronic identification (eID) and ePassport solutions for government programs. The acquisition also brings together complementary strategies, customer bases and offerings that have strong synergies to support continued innovation for government-to-citizen ID customers.

8. Allied Universal acquires ALERT Protective Services

Allied Universal further expanded its footprint in North America with the acquisition of ALERT Protective Services, a residential community security firm based in Sarasota, Florida. Like Allied Universal, ALERT Protective Services offers integrated security systems and uniformed security professionals to work in tandem with a complete security program at community gatehouses, concierge desks, or security command centres. 

9. Veracity buys iComply software company

Veracity, a provider of transmission, storage, and display solutions for IP video, announced in 2017 the acquisition of iComply, a software provider of integrated command and control security solutions. The agreement includes all operational staff, software, intellectual property, ongoing business, and also iComply’s sales and support subsidiary in India. Veracity will maintain iComply as a separate business and expand its operations. Veracity planned to sell software based on icomply’s technology under the Veracity brand in the U.S. market, but will keep the separate brands in the United Kingdom, where icomply is better known.

10. Robotic Assistance Devices acquired by On the Move Systems

Robots came on the security scene in a high-profile way in 2017. On the M&A front, Robotic Assistance Devices (RAD), north American master distributor for SMP featuring exclusive power and other special technology, and a North American distributor for SMP Robotics, announced its acquisition by On the Move Systems (OMVS). The merger with OMVS allows RAD access to capital to scale its product portfolio and further increase its market position as a leader in the robotic guard market.