Altus Fire & Life Safety Receives Strategic Investment from Apax Funds

3rd September 2024

Investment will support the company’s rapid growth into a national fire and life safety provider

Altus Fire & Life Safety (“Altus” or the “Company”), a leading provider of regulation-mandated fire and life safety services in the Northeastern region of the USA, today announced that it has received a strategic investment from funds advised by Apax Partners LLP (“Apax”), a global private equity advisory firm. Financial terms of the transaction with AE Industrial Partners, a leading private equity firm specializing in national security, aerospace, and industrial services, were not disclosed.

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in New York, Altus offers state-of-the-art fire and life safety services and solutions, such as testing and inspection, service and repair, drills and training, monitoring, upgrade, and installation services across product categories including fire alarm, sprinkler, and security systems. Over the past few years, the Company has grown rapidly both organically and via strategic M&A, adding new service lines and geographies. 

John Adams, CEO, Altus Fire & Life Safety said: “The acquisition of Altus by the Apax Funds represents a unique and exciting opportunity for the future of our organization and our employees. 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.”

Altus benefits from a strong reputation in the market and established relationships with strategic partners. Altus operates in a recession resilient and growing market and the Company has consistently delivered robust top-line performance. Given the large addressable market, Altus is well placed to continue to grow both organically and via strategic M&A.

Nedu Ottih, Partner at Apax, commented: “We're excited to partner with John and the team at Altus to significantly scale the business. We see an opportunity to invest more in new products and services, and sales and marketing efforts to support the Company’s continued growth and geographic expansion."

Ashish Karandikar, Partner at Apax, said: “We have been tracking the fire and life safety space for several years and have been very 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.”

Charlie Santos-Buch, Partner at AE Industrial Partners, said: “It has been very gratifying to work alongside the team at Altus as we have built the business together, taking it through a rebranding and establishing it as a well-integrated leader in the sector. We wish them continued success as they move onto their next stage of growth.” 

Austen Dixon, Vice President at AE Industrial Partners, added: “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.” 

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