{"id":111604,"date":"2026-10-05T11:29:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T15:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livingstonepartners.com\/?post_type=transaction&p=111604"},"modified":"2026-10-05T11:29:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T15:29:46","slug":"livingstone-secures-acquirer-for-ipc-international","status":"publish","type":"transaction","link":"https:\/\/livingstonepartners.com\/nl\/transaction\/livingstone-secures-acquirer-for-ipc-international\/","title":{"rendered":"Livingstone Secures Acquirer For IPC International"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Livingstone is pleased to announce the sale of IPC International Corporation (\u201cIPC\u201d or the \u201cCompany\u201d) to Universal Protection Service, LLC, a division of Universal Services of America, Inc. (\u201cUniversal\u201d).\u00a0 Universal is the 5th<\/sup> largest security company in the U.S. \u00a0The sale was consummated pursuant to \u00a7363 of Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Headquartered in Bannockburn, Illinois, IPC was founded by Howard Kaplan in 1978 as General Investigative Corp.  The Company later became IPC International and eventually grew to become the industry leader in mall security staffing with 7,000+ employees generating annual revenue in excess of $200 million at its peak.  IPC is widely recognized for revolutionizing the shopping center security industry by pioneering every commonly used security program utilized today in America\u2019s shopping centers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After experiencing tightened liquidity due to a number of industry factors, Livingstone was retained as the Company\u2019s investment banker in 2012 to conduct a comprehensive sale process.  After strong interest and offers from a number of strategic and financial buyers, IPC entered into a stalking horse purchase agreement with Universal and filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in August 2013.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following a competitive bankruptcy auction at which Universal prevailed as the successful bidder, the bankruptcy court approved the sale.  IPC\u2019s security guard operations were sold to Universal for $24.0 million cash plus the assumption of certain liabilities while the estate retained all principal balance sheet assets including accounts receivable, prepaid assets and real estate.  In addition, a multi-million dollar fund is being established to service general liability claims for IPC customers that signed amended customer contracts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUniversal is one of the fastest growing companies in the security industry and IPC \u2013 as the industry leader in shopping mall security solutions \u2013 is a perfect strategic fit,\u201d<\/em> said Livingstone Partner Joseph Greenwood<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other professionals involved in the transaction include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n