Mitie acquires GBE Converge in £27m deal

Mitie Group announced the acquisition of GBE Converge Group (GBE), an independent provider of fire, security, and information and communications technology solutions, on Thursday.

The FTSE 250 company said the strategic acquisition involved a maximum cash consideration of £27m, including an initial payment of £20m and deferred payments of up to £7m over three years, contingent upon performance metrics.

With over two decades of industry experience, GBE specialises in offering various fire and security solutions, encompassing fire detection and suppression systems, access control, intruder alarms, CCTV, and security management systems.

Additionally, Mitie said GBE provides the necessary ICT and network infrastructure to support the systems, delivering fully integrated solutions and ongoing management and monitoring services.

It said GBE Converge serves a diverse clientele across various major market segments in both the UK and Europe, catering to government agencies as well as clients in the construction, data centre and ICT sectors.

The company holds essential industry certifications, including accreditations to install and maintain systems for equipment manufacturers, including AMAG, Cisco, Honeywell, and Siemens.

Mitie said the acquisition would further solidify its position in the intelligence and technology-driven fire and security markets.

It would complement its recent acquisitions of Linx International in April and RHI Industrials in May.

Additionally, GBE Converge had the potential to offer complementary services to JCA Engineering, another company acquired by Mitie in September, particularly in the delivery of complex engineering projects in critical environments such as data centres.

For the 12 months ended 31 December, GBE Converge recorded revenue of £36m, reflecting year-on-year growth of 17%.

The company’s EBITDA for the same period amounted to £2.4 million, demonstrating growth of 53% on the year.

Mitie said it was funding the acquisition using its existing facilities.

“We are delighted to welcome the GBE team to the group,” said group chief executive Phil Bentley.

“As our customers’ needs for facilities transformation evolve and demand grows for ‘smart buildings’, building management systems increasingly converge with fire and security platforms.

“The acquisition of GBE brings sophisticated intelligence-based fire and security capabilities and enables Mitie to broaden the range of projects we can self-deliver for our customers in the built environment.”

At 0836 GMT, shares in Mitie Group were up 0.61% at 99.1p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.