British group Securicor, one of the world's largest security services providers, bought Romanian-based guarding and intervention company Watch Guard Security, held by British businessman Mike Brown, market sources told Ziarul Financiar.
This is the second transaction on the market of security companies, after Danish Group 4 Falck took over private guarding agency Valahia two years ago.
However, the value of the transaction is much lower than the $2 million Group 4 Falck paid for Valahia, the quoted sources also say.
Following the company's takeover, Mike Brown, a former employee of the British Embassy in Bucharest, is now managing Securicor's operations through the company Securicor Romania SRL, the sources added. The company was registered under this name at the Trade Registry in June 2003.
Contacted by Ziarul Financiar, Mike Brown declined to confirm or deny the information and volunteered no further details on the issue, but did speak about "a new" company. "All I can tell you is that the new company will be launched in May and a press conference will be held then." Also, Securicor officials had no comments by press time.
Securicor Plc is a group posting over 1 billion sterling pounds (some $2 billion) in turnover every year, operating in 50 countries and employing more than 100,000 people worldwide.
Securicor is listed at the London Stock Exchange and controls capital worth more than 506 million sterling pounds (about $1 billion).
The British group's move to enter the Romanian market is all the more interesting as it follows the arrival of Danish Group 4 Falck, the world's second-largest security group, in Romania.
adrian.mirsanu@zf.ro
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