Business News Assa Abloy acquires German home automation firm Stockholm, Sweden Assa Abloy has acquired Bird Home Automation GmbH, a German manufacturer of IP door intercom for single and multi-family buildings, for indoor station or smartphone control, marketed under the trademark Doorbird. “Doorbird is a strategic technological addition to the Assa Abloy Group and will reinforce our offering with IP door intercom and provide complementary growth opportunities,” says Nico Delvaux, President and CEO of Assa Abloy. “This acquisition supports our efforts to accelerate our growth in the smart residential segment and continue our journey as a leader in home security. Doorbird has built a successful and attractive product and service offering, that is highly respected in the markets they serve, and I look forward to working with them on their evolution within the Assa Abloy family,” states Neil Vann, Executive Vice President of Assa Abloy and Head of EMEIA Division. Doorbird was established in 2014 and has around 110 employees, with its main office located in Berlin, Germany. Sales for 2021 amounted to about €21 million with a strong EBIT margin. The acquisition will be accretive to EPS from the start. Nico Delvaux, CEO and President at Assa Abloy. Securitas sets progressive financial targets following Stanley acquisition Stockholm, Sweden Following the acquisition of Stanley Security, completed and consolidated into Securitas towards the end of July, the group has defined new financial targets. The new financial targets are aligned with the strategy to be a security solutions partner with world-leading technology and expertise, strongly positioned to deliver superior growth and increased margins: • 8–10 percent technology & solutions annual average real sales growth • 8 percent Group operating margin by year-end 2025, with a >10 percent long-term operating margin ambition • A net debt to EBITDA ratio below 3.0x The new margin target replaces the previous target of an average increase in earnings per share of 10 percent and the margin targets in the respective business segments related to the business transformation programmes in the Group. The existing operating cash flow target of 70-80 percent of operating income before amortisation remains the same, and the new capital structure target of a net debt to EBITDA ratio of below 3.0x replaces the previous net debt to EBITDA ratio of on average 2.5x, and is estimated to be achieved in 2024. The dividend policy is unchanged, remaining in a range of 50–60 percent of annual net income over time. The strategic transformation ambition – to double the security solutions and electronic security sales by 2023, compared to 2018, is discontinued as the ambition was already fulfilled by the acquisition of Stanley Security. According to the company, the integration of Stanley Security is proceeding well and according to plan. In 2021, Stanley Security had an installation backlog growth of 33 percent. Adjusted sales were approximately MUSD 1 650 with organic sales growth of 7 percent during the year, and the adjusted EBITDA margin was 11 percent. For the first six months of 2022, Stanley Security had a record installation backlog, with growth of 18 percent compared to the same period last year. Adjusted sales were approximately MUSD 805 with organic sales growth of 3 percent. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 9 percent, temporarily impacted by the corona pandemic, supply chain issues, inflationary cost increases and obsolete pricing processes. The profitability improved in the second quarter 2022 compared to the first quarter 2022 with continued positive trend. Pricing, efficiency and cost actions have been implemented, and together with solid commercial momentum and accelerated value creation execution, profitability is expected to improve going forward. Acre completes acquisition of Security Identification Systems Dallas, Tx (USA) Acre has completed its acquisition of Security Identification Systems Corporation (SISCO.) Founded in 1994 in South Florida, SISCO develops visitor management solutions for credentialing, compliance, and tracking. It provides world-class security products and services using state-of-the-art technologies and integrated security solutions for an ever-changing business environment that can be deployed on-premise or SaaS (hosted or cloud). SISCO operates in various key verticals, such as airports, healthcare, education and cruise ships. “SISCO has been a pioneer in the visitor management segment and has continued to innovate and expand its roadmap over the years,” said Don Joos, CEO, Acre. “This acquisition will improve our reach and ability to respond to the ever-increasing need for greater oversight of who is within a facility at any given time. It will also significantly increase our innovation capabilities. We are thrilled to welcome the talent and energy of the SISCO organisation to our team.” The deal is part of Acre’s continued investment strategy in proven and trusted technologies that aim to propel organisations to better control risk and ensure security. Since its inception, Acre’s goal has been to bring the industry’s best technology into its broader portfolio. At the end of 2021, it acquired Feenics and Matrix to address evolving customer requirements in rapidly growing cloud and vertical markets. Acre, which Triton purchased in March 2021, continues to look for opportunities to consolidate the industry, create global scale and expand the solution portfolio with innovative, leading technologies. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. 2 0 • de tek to r internat io nal