Altus Fire & Life Safety, a provider of regulation-mandated fire and life-safety services in the Northeastern U.S., has been acquired by Apax Partners, a London-based private equity firm.

Financial terms of the transaction with AE Industrial Partners, a private equity firm specializing in national security, aerospace and industrial services, were not disclosed.

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in New York, Altus provides a wide range of services and solutions. These include testing and inspection, service and repair, drills and training, monitoring, upgrades and installation across various product categories, such as fire alarms, sprinklers and security systems. In the past few years, the company has grown rapidly both organically and via strategic M&A, adding new service lines and geographies.

“The acquisition of Altus by the Apax Funds represents a unique and exciting opportunity for the future of our organization and our employees,” stated John Adams, CEO, Altus Fire & Life Safety. “Apax brings a wealth of experience and resources which are designed to further enable our rapid growth and scale into one of the nation’s leading providers of fire and life safety services. We are very thankful for the partnership with AE Industrial Partners over the past few years, and we believe this new chapter gives us the ability to fully execute on the vision which was the catalyst of Altus’ inception.”

Austen Dixon, vice president at AE Industrial Partners, explained, “When we acquired Altus in 2021, our vision was to create a leading, innovative brand in the fire and life safety sector, while expanding the company’s footprint. We are proud of the work we have done to drive revenue, streamline operational functions, capitalize on synergies and realign the sales strategy to drive profitability and scalability.”

The Altus platform currently consists of nine brands including Adcock’s Systems, Alarm & Suppression, BK Systems, Croker Fire Drill, Cross-Fire & Security, Fire Systems Inc., Northeast Fire Systems, Crime Intervention Alarm, and Priority Fire and Security.

Ashish Karandikar, a partner at Apax, commented the PE firm has been tracking the fire and life safety space for several years and has been impressed by Altus’ growth journey to date. “We are thrilled to collaborate with John and the entire Altus team as we support the company in this next growth phase, solidifying its leading position in the fire and life safety services industry,” he added.

Altus was advised by Lincoln International. Apax was advised by William Blair and Solomon Partners.