FirstService’s Century Fire Protection acquires A&A Fire Protection, with Greenville’s 1977 sprinkler contractor keeping a minority stake

FirstService Corporation announced after the market close on October 19 that its subsidiary Century Fire Protection has acquired A&A Fire Protection, LLC of Greenville, South Carolina. Jake Gilstrap, A&A’s president, will continue to lead day-to-day operations and retain a minority equity interest.

Century CEO Richard Deeb said the deal furthers Century’s strategy of “enhancing its scale and broadening its client base in existing markets,” and pointed to deeper fire sprinkler and alarm capabilities in “the growing Carolina markets.”

The asset.

A&A was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Greenville. It provides fire sprinkler design, installation, inspection and repair services to a broad range of commercial end markets across South Carolina, plus regions of western North Carolina and north Georgia. That territory runs along the I-85 corridor between Atlanta and Charlotte. FirstService’s headline calls the deal a broadening of Century’s “existing footprint in Carolina markets,” and Century already had Carolina offices when FirstService bought it in 2016.

The release does not disclose A&A’s revenue, headcount, branch count, or how its work splits between new installation and recurring inspection, testing and repair.

The platform.

Century started in 2000 with three employees and one truck, according to the company. When FirstService acquired it in April 2016, it had roughly 600 staff in 12 offices across Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Texas, and $93 million of 2015 revenue. Founder Scott Tutterow and senior management kept a minority stake at that time. Today Century describes itself as having more than 2,400 employees in over 45 offices across 14 states, covering sprinklers, alarms, suppression, extinguishers, backflows, pumps and hydrants.

Century is one of the company-owned operations inside FirstService Brands. FirstService reports more than $5.5 billion in annual revenue and about 30,000 employees, and FirstService Residential is the largest manager of residential communities in North America.

A&A is Century’s third announced tuck-under this year. On May 28, FirstService announced GSC Fire & Security (Austin, founded 2004; fire alarm installation plus alarm and sprinkler inspection, repair and monitoring) and Titan Fire Protection (Tampa, founded 1997; sprinkler installation and retrofit). Both management teams kept minority equity and stayed in charge of operations. Century’s partnering page says it targets profitable fire protection companies with $1 million to $100 million of revenue and a mix of service and installation work, with a focus on the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.

A partial sale to a permanent owner.

What sets this structure apart is what happens to the equity the seller keeps. Century says it acquires stakes of 60% to 100%. It describes its model as long-term ownership “instead of a fixed time investment,” with partners who keep control of “frontline decision-making while participating financially in the longer growth of the business.”

FirstService’s annual information form describes how those minority interests work across its businesses. FirstService owns a majority interest, and operating management owns the rest. In almost all cases FirstService has the right to call management’s shares, paying in cash or, at its option, in FirstService common shares. Holders can also put their shares to FirstService, subject to annual limits set in the shareholder agreements. Death, disability or leaving the company can also trigger a buyout.

For a seller, the retained stake is worth whatever its exit mechanics say it is worth. A private equity rollover gets paid when the fund sells, usually within a few years, and the price is set by that sale. A FirstService-style minority interest has no scheduled exit. Liquidity comes through put and call rights under a shareholder agreement. That means the valuation formula, the annual put limits, whether payment comes in cash or stock, and what happens if the owner steps back are the terms that decide what the second payment is really worth. None of A&A’s specific terms are public.

The fire protection M&A environment.

Fire and life safety remains one of the busiest buyer pools in the trades. On Insights this fall we have covered Summit Fire & Security / Casteel, Total Fire Protection / Victory, APi Group / Evergreen Fire and Security and Sciens / Wilkins. The buyers include PE-backed platforms, a family office, a NYSE-listed consolidator, and now another public strategic. They all want the same thing: inspection, testing and repair revenue that is required by code and recurs, added on top of installation capability.

What it means.

For sprinkler and alarm owners in the Carolinas, Georgia and the broader Southeast, Century is an active buyer that wants your management team to stay and is open to buying less than 100%. For some owners, especially those with a successor already in place, that is the right answer. When comparing it with a PE offer, look at the full package: cash at close, the size of the retained stake, how and when that stake can be sold, and who sets the price when it is.

No purchase price, revenue, or EBITDA was disclosed.