Citizens Commercial Banking’s Security Finance Group is providing a $25 million credit facility to Arlington-based American Alarm and Communications. Citizens is the sole lender.

Founded in 1971, American Alarm is a residential and commercial provider of security and life-safety systems across New England. The company, which is ranked 28 on the SDM 100, is managed by Lou and Wells Sampson, sons of the company founder, Dick Sampson. 

 A new credit customer of Citizens, American Alarm will use the revolving credit facility for general corporate purposes and acquisitions.

 “The Citizens’ Security Finance Group is a class act. Their experience in this industry was a key differentiator,” said Lou Sampson, CFO of American Alarm and Communications. “The Citizens team followed through on promises and worked hard to bring helpful best practice ideas to the table.”

“We are very excited to have American Alarm as a new credit client at Citizens,” said Greg Buscone, senior vice president and market manager of specialized banking at Citizens Commercial Banking. “Citizens and American Alarm both believe in building long-term relationships and providing value-added solutions for our customers. Citizens’ security finance team is focused on companies, such as American Alarm, where we can leverage our industry knowledge to meet their banking needs and bring good ideas.”

Buscone said Citizens can meet the needs of a growing American Alarm because of the bank’s industry expertise in security alarm lending. “As American Alarm grew,” Buscone said, “the need to be with a bank with security alarm specialty became very important to American Alarm and thus made the partnership with Citizens important.”

Sampson explained American Alarm’s growth strategy as balancing organic growth with acquisitions. “We have had a banking relationship with Citizens for more than 15 years,” he said. “So adding this new credit facility is a natural evolution of our work with the bank. At American Alarm we are growing steadily, both organically and through acquisition, so this new credit facility will support that strategy. Having completed 27 acquisitions, most within the past 15 years, acquisitions remain an important aspect of our growth.”

Buscone sees this as a long-term relationship and said, “Our goal is to meet American Alarm’s financing needs today and well into the future.”