HID to acquire Mercury Security Products

Sept. 19, 2017
Divestiture to enable ACRE to focus on its core businesses under the Vanderbilt and ComNet brands

HID Global on Tuesday announced that it has entered into an agreement with Access Control Related Enterprises, LLC (ACRE), to acquire Mercury Security Products, an OEM supplier of access control hardware, for an undisclosed amount.

In a statement, HID Global said that the acquisition of Mercury, which boasts an install base of over three million controllers deployed at tens of thousands of sites around the world, including at more than 90 of the Fortune 100 companies, perfectly complement’s their range of readers, smart cards and mobile IDs.

“The acquisition of Mercury Security will advance HID‘s global leadership in the physical access control industry, adding Mercury Security’s high-quality controllers to HID’s product portfolio while extending HID’s installed base of millions of users beyond the readers and smart cards that we are already well known for,” said Stefan Widing, President and CEO of HID Global. “Customers of both HID and Mercury Security will benefit from tighter and more seamless integration of controllers with readers and credentials, as well as from our shared vision for an open, flexible approach to access control.”

For their part, ACRE, which also owns Vanderbilt and ComNet, said that selling Mercury would enable them to focus more on their core product offerings within these businesses.

“Divesting Mercury after many years of success since ACRE purchased the business in 2013 is a strategic move that allows ACRE to focus on its core access control, video and intrusion businesses under the Vanderbilt and ComNet brands,” said ACRE CEO Joseph Grillo. “HID is the perfect home to provide for the continued growth and success of Mercury, which will remain a valued technology supplier to Vanderbilt.”

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. It is expected to close in Q4 2017. Pending the close, the Mercury team will report into HID’s Physical Access Control Solutions (PACS) business, which is led by Harm Radstaak, vice president and managing director.