SAFE Security, San Ramon, Calif., has been making headlines ever since it was acquired by ICV Partners in early December of last year with its two-part acquisition of Pinnacle Security accounts, the launch of a monitored do-it-yourself (DIY) offering and expansion of its dealer program.

Most recently, Paul Sargenti, president and chief executive officer of SAFE Security announced that Bank of America leads a five bank syndicate that has refinanced SAFE Security’s senior debt facility. The new facility provided by the Bank of Montreal, One West Bank, Madison Capital, and U.S. Bank in addition to the Bank of America provides SAFE Security with $130 million of capital to pursue its growth strategy.

Sargenti shared, “We have been looking for a long time at some properties and transactions we wanted to do. And we really couldn’t do it without the right partner. Partnering with ICV was a catalyst in really embarking upon a new growth strategy for SAFE.”

With $1,724,862 in recurring monthly revenue (RMR), SAFE Security was ranked No. 26 in the 2012 SDM 100. The two account acquisitions the company has completed thus far in 2013 have brought in approximately $1.6 million of RMR from now-defunct Pinnacle Security. SAFE nearly doubled its RMR in the first quarter of 2013, an infrastructure challenge it has prepared for with other small and large account acquisitions and a great deal of support and stability from ICV Partners. The strategy calls for a well-rehearsed period of adjustment for the company’s new customers. But SAFE isn’t finished growing yet.

To balance strong acquisition growth, the company is ramping up its dealer program with a $10,000 reward incentive program. Add to that the new SAFE@home™ division that will expand the company’s reach to a whole new market with a monitored DIY solution.

“It’s a four-channel strategy to grow our top line,” Sargenti described. “Namely, what we’ve been doing for a long time — bulk acquisitions — as well as a robust dealer program we’ve now been building for a year and a half that’s gotten great traction. Another channel is a traditional channel only for those who don’t have their own central stations — the wholesale monitoring channel. SAFE acquired a central monitoring station [in 2009] and modernized it, making it into a Five Diamond central station… The fourth channel is something new we’re trying and that is a DIY channel that is entirely IP-based. This has been an area where others have had difficulties because of challenges in reaching consumers and also in how to get it to work inside the home. We think we’ve met those challenges and we’re now starting to get some nice traction with the DIY offering.”

Sargenti also stated the expansion of the company’s senior credit lines provides the capital SAFE needs to execute its long-term growth strategy and stay on track with strategic acquisitions and geographic expansion.

For more on SAFE’s dealer program, DIY offering and account acquisitions, continue reading at www.SDMmag.com/SAFE-growth. — By Sabrina Gasulla, Associate Editor