Cobalt Service Partners announced Tuesday they have acquired an Oklahoma-based commercial security integrator, which represents the firm’s seventh acquisition since December.
Cobalt, which is backed by private equity firm Alpine Investors, purchased Digi Security Systems, which was founded in Tulsa, Okla., in 2003 by the company’s current president, Joshua Herron.
Digi has over 100 employees across its offices in Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Dallas and has served more than 1,000 customers. Herron and the rest of the Digi’s executive team -- Vice President Tyler Nichols, Chief People Officer Brooke Lade and Vice President of Operations Kaitlyn Verity -- will continue in their current roles.
To supplement the team and accelerate growth of the business, Cobalt plans to appoint a CEO for Digi in the near future.
When Digi was founded, Herron was a software developer at RAE Corp., a Pryor-based commercial refrigeration and HVAC manufacturer. Herron began assisting local organizations with installation and maintenance of their security systems and soon thereafter, Digi was established as a standalone business within RAE.
Herron said more than 100 companies sought Digi’s partnership, but Cobalt stood out for being fully dedicated to people. “We couldn’t be more excited about this next era in Digi’s history,” he said. “With the increasing importance and technological complexity of security within these organizations, Digi’s work is as critical as ever.”
Cobalt Co-CEO Tyler Hoffman says Digi is among the “largest and most reputable” commercial security integrators serving Oklahoma and Texas, serving the needs of a variety of markets but especially public school districts, municipalities and universities. Although Digi only entered the Texas market a few years ago, “the traction they’ve achieved in a short period of time is incredible and speaks to the quality of their work,” he says.
“They were not interested in selling the business to an organization that wouldn’t honor the incredible foundation they’ve been building over the last 20 years. The Digi team is rightly proud of what they’ve created and didn’t want to see all their hard work get absorbed and diluted by a big corporation.
“These are high priority markets for us, so – in addition to the other compelling factors that Digi brings to the table – we’re excited to extend our geographic footprint into these key markets.”
When it comes to a CEO, Hoffman expects whoever is selected to “listen, learn, and build relationships. Digi does so much right, so it’s critical that we do more observing than doing in these first few weeks and months.
“It’s also critical our CEO builds relationships with the Digi team and with its key customers. Digi’s business is built on these relationships, so our CEO should be focused on solidifying trust and credibility with these key stakeholders.
“It’s also important our CEO both document the components of the Digi playbook that we can roll out across the Cobalt portfolio and implement the components of the Cobalt playbook that apply to Digi. Sharing information and best practices is central to Cobalt’s mission, so our CEO will play a key role in that information exchange up, down, and across the Cobalt network.”
