Exclusive advisory to the shareholders of Gleich Group, vi2vi Group and Schmid Alarm on the strategic partnership with Garda Holding
Uwe Gleich
The partnership unites leading mid-sized security specialists to drive growth, innovation and complex project implementation.
June, 2024. ox8 Corporate Finance acted as exclusive sell-side M&A advisor to the shareholders of Gleich Group, vi2vi Group and Schmid Alarm GmbH on the merger and entry into a strategic partnership with Garda Holding – a portfolio company of private equity investor EMK.
| Mandate: | Sell-Side |
| Client: | Gleich Group, VI2VI Group; Schmidt Alarm (Germany) |
| Investor: | Garda Holding (Norway) |
| Transaction: | Acquisition |
| Volume: | Not Public |
The four medium-sized companies from the security technology sector, the Gleich Group from Aschaffenburg, the vi2vi Group from Durmersheim near Karlsruhe, Schmid Alarm GmbH from Stockdorf near Munich and the Freihoff Group from Langenfeld, have joined forces. As a group of companies, they have thus become one of the largest security service providers in Germany and cover 360 degrees of security technology. Garda Holding was chosen as a partner to accompany its continuous growth.
The Gleich Group, the vi2vi Group, Schmid Alarm GmbH and the Freihoff Group have already worked together on major customer projects in the past, complementing each other with their respective expertise. The merger to form a joint group is the next step in the further development of the medium-sized players, each of which has grown strongly in recent years. The companies will remain on the market with their own brands but will operate as a group of companies. As a group, they will jointly implement complex security technology projects for customers throughout Germany and Europe, enabling them to be even more competitive.
“Due to the strategic merger of our companies, we now offer customers a broad portfolio from the entire value chain from a single source: Consulting, planning, implementation and services for IT-oriented security technology such as access management, video management and hazard management systems,” says Uwe Gleich, Managing Director of the Gleich Group. “With this 360-degree approach, we are now able to implement supra-regional and complex enterprise projects and expand our customer base, particularly in the area of critical infrastructure (KRITIS).“
The group of companies is also pooling its expertise in overarching topics such as marketing, recruiting, finance, quality management and personnel development. “The new group of companies will make us even more attractive for our long-standing employees and future colleagues,” says Tobias Schmid, Managing Director of Schmid Alarm GmbH. “For instance, we are planning our own training academy and want to provide colleagues with cross-company qualifications. This will enable us to offer them even better development and promotion prospects.“
In order to further drive the growth of the new group of companies, the managing directors of the Gleich Group, the vi2vi Group and Schmid Alarm have decided to work with a growth partner. “During our lookout, it was important to us that the new partner shared the values of our group of companies – trust, quality and flexibility,” says Mathias Bechler, Managing Director of the vi2vi Group. “We therefore spent over a year looking together for the right partner for our group of companies and held intensive discussions and workshops. We are now delighted to have a strong partner from the security industry on board with Garda Holding, which belongs to EMK Capital.”
The Freihoff Group has been part of Garda Holding since April 2024. The Freihoff Group, Gleich Group, vi2vi Group and Schmid Alarm are now under the umbrella of Garda Holding.
