Private Equity Group partners with parent company of AvantGuard Monitoring and Freeus
BOSTON, July 13, 2020 – BV Investment Partners (“BV”), a middle-market private equity firm focused on the tech-enabled business services, software and IT services sectors, announced today an investment in Becklar LLC, parent company of independently operated and complementary sister companies, Freeus and AvantGuard, in partnership with company founder and Chief Executive Officer Josh Garner.
Becklar, based in Ogden, UT, was formed in 2017 by Josh Garner to unite the complementary Freeus and AvantGuard businesses under one entity. Freeus provides mobile personal emergency response system (“PERS”) solutions to life safety, security and technology businesses nationwide. Freeus’ full solution bundles mobile PERS devices, a proprietary device management software platform, cellular connectivity and event response monitoring services. AvantGuard is a technology-forward wholesale monitoring provider that offers critical event response services to the security, fire, PERS and IoT industries across all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Canada.
Justin Garrison, Managing Director of BV Investment Partners, said, “For a number of years we have been working to execute on an investment thesis around wholesale monitoring and PERS. These industries provide critical life safety technology and services, and they benefit from a number of growth drivers including demographic tailwinds, the desire of seniors to have the freedom to age in place, IoT adoption, and the trend towards outsourcing commercial and residential monitoring to leading wholesale providers like AvantGuard. We have gotten to know Josh and the Becklar team over the last several years; they are a terrific group and have established a leading position in the wholesale monitoring and PERS industries through careful investment in technology, process and people. We’re looking forward to be working in partnership with them to execute on a compelling growth strategy.”
Mr. Garner, said, “Driven by the quality and dedication of the Becklar team, investment in technology, and the good fortune of positive market trends, Becklar has grown rapidly. Together with BV we’re pursuing a number of organic growth opportunities, including the overall growth in the mobile PERS market, developing new products and services, meeting emerging monitoring needs, and expanding our software development capabilities for a number of end markets. We also plan to pursue sizeable M&A opportunities which had previously been out of our reach without a partner like BV. The BV team has a long history of working with founder-owned companies, has experience in our sectors, and we are excited to be working with them.” Mr. Garner is retaining a sizeable equity stake in Becklar and plans to remain highly engaged with the business.
Sam Axelrod, Vice President of BV, said, “From our initial meeting we have been enormously impressed with the Company, its team, and its service and product offerings. Freeus and AvantGuard are differentiated businesses that operate in two growing markets. Both companies are well-regarded in the industry and known for high quality solutions and service levels. We’re looking forward to being a key part of Becklar’s future as the Company continues to grow and provide the highest levels of service.”
In addition to Justin Garrison and Sam Axelrod, Vikrant Raina, CEO and Managing Partner of BV, will be joining the Company’s Board of Directors alongside Josh Garner.
The Edmonds Group acted as exclusive financial advisor to Becklar for the transaction.
About BV Investment Partners
BV Investment Partners is one of the oldest and most experienced sector-focused private equity firms in North America. Since its founding in 1983, the firm has invested approximately $3.7 billion, actively targeting investments in the business services, software and IT services industries. For more information, please visit www.bvlp.com.
