Re: going rate for purchase of alarm accounts?

[Robert L Bass <sales@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Is anyone who has bought or sold monitoring accounts recently willing to
> disclose what multiplier for their monthly rates was used to establish
> the value of the accounts?
>
> I've still got a few accounts I'm considering selling & need to know
> what a 'fair' figure would be. The accounts pay only for monitoring; no
> service contract is included in the monitoring fee.

Most of my accounts were on annual contracts.  Most were also
long-term customers.  I got 36 multiple.  We billed annually in
advance so that reduced the payout by roughly 6 multiple since
we'd already received payment from the clients.

If I'd wanted to hold out I suppose I could have gotten more but
I sold the business during my divorce and really just wanted to
get it done.  One guy I know who had 3-year recurring contracts
was able to get 42 months less prepayments.

One of the issues will be the strength and assignability of your
contracts.  Another consideration will be the time you've held
them.  Longer is better, obviously.  The types of hardware,
service obligations, etc., can all come into play.

You might also want to chat with one of the companies that
specialize in handling sales of alarm accounts to get an idea
what they think your accounts are worth.

Good luck.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

Bass Burglar Alarms
The Online DIY Store
http://www.BassBurglarAlarms.com