Kastle Systems Opens Door to Residential Security with Acquisition

By Michael Neibauer  – Associate Editor, Washington Business Journal

Falls Church-based Kastle Systems International has acquired a D.C. alarm company that will deliver Kastle a doorway into single-family residential security.

Urban Alarm, which will be brought under the Kastle umbrella, provides security services to commercial, institutional and high-end residential communities, including Woodland Normanstone in Northwest D.C., plus embassies and ambassador residences. Its services include access control, video surveillance, guard patrol, remote video monitoring and fire and life safety.

Terms were not disclosed.

“Our customer bases, product offerings and geographic coverage are extremely complementary, which will provide significant growth opportunities going forward,” Kastle Systems’ Chairman Mark Ein said in a statement.

Per a release, Kastle and Urban Alarm partnered on a security project at The Wharf.

The Urban Alarm buy comes only a week after Ein, a serial investor, announced he would personally acquire the Washington City Paper. Ein, chairman and majority owner of the Washington Kastles and Venturehouse Group LLC, has found success elsewhere with a series of so-called blank check businesses, or companies that raise funds in an initial public offering and then invest the cash to buy or merge with another company. His fourth such venture, Capitol Investment Corp. IV (NYSE: CIC.U), raised $402.5 million in its August IPO.

Kastle’s services were developed for commercial and multifamily buildings. According to the release, with Urban Alarm in tow, “Kastle will not only expand its market presence and skilled workforce but also enable a unified, seamless security experience for customers, who will now be able to use a single electronic credential for both their home and their office.”

Kastle’s security systems are in place in more than 10,000 locations across the globe. The company also has offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and Sydney, Australia.

Largest Security Technology Companies in Greater D.C.

Ranked by 2016 metro-area revenue
Locally Researched by: Carolyn M. Proctor, Washington Business Journal

Rank Name 2016 Metro-Area Revenue 2016 Metro-Area Revenue Total Revenue 2016 Metro Area Employees Total Employees Headquarters
1
Kastle Systems International LLC
Subscribe or Purchase CSV $84.00 million Subscribe or Purchase CSV 275 550 Falls Church
2
Corbett Technology Solutions Inc.
Subscribe or Purchase CSV $43.02 million Subscribe or Purchase CSV 143 175 Chantilly
3
GuidePoint Security LLC
Subscribe or Purchase CSV $41.40 million Subscribe or Purchase CSV 47 204 Herndon
4
Emagine IT Inc.
Subscribe or Purchase CSV $39.58 million Subscribe or Purchase CSV NA NA Fairfax
5
Genesis Security Systems LLC
Subscribe or Purchase CSV $21.03 million Subscribe or Purchase CSV 75 75 Germantown

Click here to read the original posted article.