Decathlon Capital Partners, one of the primary investors in California-based portable security solutions provider V5 Systems, is looking to exit the business and is seeking a buyer for the company, sources close to the negotiations recently told SecurityInfoWatch.com (SIW).
Just over two years ago, Decathlon provided a “seven-figure investment” to V5 to help the company advance development of its edge computing technology as well as expand its sales and customer support systems.
V5 leverages a combination of solar and battery power along with wireless connectivity to provide video surveillance, license plate recognition, and gunshot detection for outdoor security applications where power is scarce or the permitting process onerous. The company’s onboard edge-computing platform also enables them to run analytics onsite quickly without the need to send them back to a cloud server.
Founded in 2014, V5 gained widespread attention in the security industry in 2016 when its Portable Security Unit (PSU) received a SIA New Product Showcase Award for best new product in the Video Surveillance Hardware and Accessories category at ISC West. Just a year later at ISC West 2017, the company launched its V5 Camera Adaptive Platform, which leverages proprietary solar technology to provide an ongoing power source for third-party surveillance cameras. V5 also announced a partnership with surveillance industry stalwart Axis Communications just a month prior to that year’s show.
With their technology recently gaining traction with several large customers, including organizations in the oil and gas industry, university campuses, law enforcement, and even the military, one source told SIW that V5 now needs the resources to be able to service them over the long term and that a larger strategic partner or a company with a larger balance sheet is needed to help them achieve this.
The sale process was started over a month ago, according to the source, and Berkery Noyes has been retained as a financial advisor.
SIW reached out to V5 and Decathlon for comment but they had not gotten back to us by press time Monday.
