In the US, building product manufacturer United Technologies Corp is to acquire Lenel Systems International Inc, the security systems and software developer.
The purchase is subject to regulatory clearance.
The purchase price is put at about $400m. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter, and will not have a significant impact on UTC’s 2005 revenues or earnings, the firm reports.
Lenel develops integrated security software systems and business solutions targeted at the commercial and government security market. The privately held company employs about 150 people and has customers in 75 countries. It will report as an independent entity to Olivier Robert, president of UTC’s fire and security business, Chubb. Robert said the acquisition of Lenel will provide access to innovative technology and market development capability in the Homeland Security and other high-end integrated segments.
"Lenel has a large end-user customer base and a strong distribution network of Value-Added Resellers (VARs) to deliver state of the art integrated solutions," Robert said. "This is a highly effective market channel that will continue to serve Lenel well."
Lenel’s flagship product is its OnGuard suite of security software products, which includes access control, smart cards, alarm monitoring, digital video, biometrics, intrusion detection, and employee and visitor management capabilities.
Elena Prokupets, President of Lenel, said, "We are impressed with the vision and strategy demonstrated by UTC, and we believe that as part of this organization, Lenel will continue to deliver even greater value to our employees, customers and partners." Lenel was founded in 1991 by Elena and Rudy Prokupets. More than 8,000 Lenel security systems have been installed for clients that include more than half the Fortune 100.
