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Acquisition of California's Largest Residential Property Management and
Consulting Organization
TORONTO, April 18 /CNW/ - FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ: FSRV; TSX: FSV) has significantly increased the size and breadth of its residential property management business through the acquisition of an 80% interest in The MERIT Companies, California's largest provider of residential property management and consulting services. Melinda Masson, Founder and CEO, will retain the balance of the equity and will continue to manage day-to-day operations and join the FirstService leadership team to contribute to the strategic direction of America's leading residential property management business. During the last 12 months, The MERIT Companies generated more than $35 million in revenues. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Additional information on The MERIT Companies can be found on their website at www.meritpm.com.
"The MERIT Companies acquisition is a key strategic move to provide us with an excellent platform for growth in California and throughout the western US region," said Gene Gomberg, CEO of FirstService Residential Property Management. "In addition to being one of America's most admired residential property management companies, MERIT has always distinguished itself by offering an integrated suite of services - everything from front-end consulting to builders and developers of large master-planned communities to providing management services to homeowner associations once the communities are operational. Melinda and her management team are a great fit with our strategic direction and we look forward to working with them."
Founded in 1980 and based in Orange County, California, The MERIT Companies currently contracts with more than 240 community associations representing over 130,000 homes through a network of nine offices and more than 400 employees located throughout California. The MERIT Companies customer base will join FirstService's industry leading platform which manages more than 3,500 community associations and more than 750,000 homes throughout the US, including some of the finest and highest profile properties in the nation. FirstService Residential Property Management is the leader in luxury hi-rise management, active adult communities and large-scale homeowner associations.
"I am very excited to be joining FirstService and its highly successful residential property management group. We were attracted by their proven track record and a unique model of partnering with strong management teams that want to accelerate the growth of their businesses," said Melinda Masson, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The MERIT Companies. "FirstService has a strong and committed team of operating partners who own equity in their businesses providing them the incentive they need to provide the highest level of service available. It also has a strong performance driven culture focused on differentiating their services from those of its competitors - all important elements of an exceptional business model."
"Consistent with our disciplined approach to acquisitions, we did not enter the strategically important California market until we were able to partner with the market leader", said Jay Hennick, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FirstService. "Melinda Masson is an icon in the industry. She has been a prominent influence in defining legislation in California and has been the recipient of numerous personal and corporate awards for her many accomplishments. We are extremely proud to have Melinda join our team and we look forward to sharing our combined best practices and working with her and Merit's talented management team going forward."
About FirstService Corporation
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FirstService is a leader in the rapidly growing property services sector, providing services in the following areas: commercial real estate; residential property management; property improvement; and integrated security services. Market-leading brands include Colliers International in commercial real estate; The Continental Group, The Wentworth Group and The MERIT Companies in residential property management; Consumer brands California Closets, Paul Davis Restoration, Pillar to Post Home Inspections, Certa Pro Painters and Handyman Connection, in property improvement; and Intercon Security and Security Services & Technologies in integrated security.
FirstService is a diversified property services company with more than US $1.4 billion in annualized revenues and more than 13,000 employees worldwide. More information about FirstService is available at www.firstservice.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements included in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of FirstService, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following: general economic and business conditions, which will, among other things, impact demand for the FirstService's services, service industry conditions and capacity; the ability of FirstService to implement its business strategy, including FirstService's ability to acquire suitable acquisition candidates on acceptable terms and successfully integrate newly acquired businesses with its existing businesses; changes in or the failure to comply with government regulations (especially safety and environmental laws and regulations); and other factors which are described in FirstService's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Canadian regulatory authorities.