Monitronics

Monitronics International to Acquire Security Networks

Business Wire via The Motley Fool

Jul 10th 2013 3:36PM

Updated Jul 10th 2013 3:38PM

Monitronics International to Acquire Security Networks

Combined company to have over one million subscribers

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ascent Capital Group, Inc., ("Ascent") (NAS: ASCMA) announced today that its primary operating subsidiary, Monitronics International, Inc., ("Monitronics"), has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Security Networks, LLC, resulting in a leading home security solutions provider with greater scale, an expanded footprint and enhanced growth prospects.

Founded in 2000, Security Networks provides monitored security system services to approximately 195,000 residential and commercial customers, making it the 14^th largest residential alarm monitoring company in the U.S.¹ Similar to Monitronics' business model, Security Networks utilizes a network of exclusive dealer affiliates to sell and install the security systems it monitors.
The transaction consideration will consist of $487.5 million of cash and 253,333 newly issued shares of Ascent Series A common stock with an agreed value of $20 million. The purchase price is subject to adjustment at closing and is based upon Security Networks delivering recurring monthly revenue (as defined in the acquisition agreement, "Acquisition RMR") of $8.8 million. The transaction will be financed primarily with new debt at the Ascent and Monitronics levels, as well as an incremental amount of cash from Ascent's balance sheet. The transaction is expected to close in mid-August 2013, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
Ascent's Chief Executive Officer, William Fitzgerald, commented, "Security Networks provides many of the characteristics that originally attracted us to Monitronics, including a high quality subscriber portfolio, a scalable business model, a very productive dealer affiliate network providing strong account growth, and attractive recurring monthly revenue that generates significant steady state free cash flow. This combination of two very successful home security industry leaders positions us for accelerated growth and ongoing strong profitability. In addition, we expect the combined operations to provide enhanced borrowing capacity that will allow us to substantially fund the acquisition with incremental debt, delivering attractive value for our shareholders over time."
As of June 30, 2013, Security Networks reported Acquisition RMR of $8.4 million (including approximately $0.1 million of wholesale monitoring). For the twelve months ending December 31, 2012, Security Networks generated revenue of $78.5 million and Adjusted EBITDA² of $46.5 million. The company maintains a strong account base with an average credit score of 720, and life cycle attrition levels in line with Monitronics' current portfolio.
Mike Haislip, President and CEO of Monitronics, stated, "We are very excited about this transaction and want to welcome the Security Networks dealer affiliates and customers on board. The combined company will have an impressive network of over 600 dealer affiliates nationwide and will service over one million subscribers. As we integrate the two companies, we expect to generate meaningful synergies from the combined operations. We expect the integration to be seamless and will make certain that our customers and dealer affiliates remain top priorities and continue to receive the high-quality service that they have come to expect."
Richard Perry, President and CEO of Security Networks, added, "Monitronics is a well-respected company and one that has a proven track record of growth in the home security market. I am confident that this transaction is the right next step for our business, creating a compelling growth platform and offering greater value to our customers. I would like to thank Oak Hill Capital Partners for their partnership, guidance, and market acumen. Together, we have helped to shape Security Networks into the dynamic business it is today."
Security Networks has been named to SDM Magazine's Top 100 list of U.S. security firms for seven consecutive years and was SDM's Dealer of the Year Honoree over the past two consecutive years. The company was also named to SD&I Magazine's Fast50 in 2012, which recognizes America's fastest growing systems integrators.
Jonathan Friesel and Benjamin Diesbach, Partners at Oak Hill Capital, jointly commented, "During our partnership with Security Networks, we enjoyed working closely with Rich Perry and his team to build the company into a leading provider of home security solutions. Security Networks and its affiliates are well-positioned to maintain their impressive growth and leadership in the residential home security market under their new ownership."
Following the close of the transaction, the combined companies will be headquartered in Dallas, Texas with Mike Haislip serving as CEO.
Conference Call & Webcast
Ascent and Monitronics will discuss the acquisition of Security Networks during a conference call to be held on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 at 4:30 pm ET.
To access the call please dial (888) 462-5915 from the United States, or (760) 666-3831 from outside the U.S. The conference call I.D. number is 13117183. Participants should dial in 5 to 10 minutes before the scheduled time and must be on a touch-tone telephone to ask questions.
A replay of the call can be accessed through July 17, 2013 by dialing (800) 585-8367 from the U.S., or (404) 537-3406 from outside the U.S. The conference call I.D. number is 13117183.
The call will also be available as a live webcast which can be accessed at Ascent's Investor Relations Website at http://www.ascentcapitalgroupinc.com/Investor-Relations.aspx.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains certain statements forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the pending acquisition of Security Networks, the completion of the proposed acquisition financing, the realization of estimated synergies from the pending acquisition, expected transaction costs, business strategies, acquisition opportunities, market potential, future financial performance, the integration of acquired assets and other matters that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements involve many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including, without limitation, the completion of the pending acquisition of Security Networks and the proposed acquisition financing, Monitronics' ability to integrate the business and operations of Security Networks, competitive issues, continued access to capital on terms acceptable to Ascent and Monitronics, general market conditions and regulatory issues. These forward looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and Ascent expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Ascent's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
About Ascent Capital Group, Inc.
Ascent is a holding company and owns 100 percent of its operating subsidiaries, including Monitronics, one of the nation's largest, fastest-growing home security alarm monitoring companies, headquartered in Dallas, TX, and certain former subsidiaries of Ascent Media Group, LLC.
About Security Networks
Security Networks is a diversified, full service life safety solutions company providing security monitoring and related services to homeowners and businesses coast-to-coast.
About Oak Hill Capital Partners
Oak Hill Capital Partners is a private equity firm with more than $8 billion of initial capital commitments from leading entrepreneurs, endowments, foundations, corporations, pension funds and global financial institutions. Over a period of more than 25 years, the professionals at Oak Hill Capital and its predecessors have invested in more than 70 significant private equity transactions across broad segments of the U.S. and global economies. Oak Hill Capital applies an industry-focused, theme-based approach and engages experienced operating consultants to work directly with management teams to implement strategic and operational initiatives. For more information about Oak Hill Capital, visit www.oakhillcapital.com.
¹ According to SDM Magazine's SDM100 rankings issued in May, 2013.
² For a definition and explanation of Adjusted EBITDA, please refer to the Company's public investor presentation posted on July 10, 2013 on the Ascent Capital Group, Inc., investor relations site at http://www.ascentcapitalgroupinc.com/Investor-Relations.aspx.

Monitronics

Monitronics Plans eContract Enhancements

• Apr 16, 2015

Effective customer interaction is a critical factor in any potential sale, and technology plays a huge part in determining success or failure. That's why Monitronics plans a major enhancement this summer to its ground-breaking eContract mobile application with the integration of technology from DocuSign, an acknowledged leader in electronic signature technology.
Monitronics has made regular enhancements to eContract mobile app since its debut in early 2012. Its release had a huge impact on reducing hard-copy paperwork and streamlining the sales process for the company's Authorized Dealer Network. Using eContract, dealers can quickly complete an electronic version of each contract in the customer's home on an iPad or Android tablet. A PDF copy is then sent instantly to the company and the customer.
The integration of DocuSign will streamline the process even more. For example, the addition of DocuSign to eContract will:
Add another layer of security for transactions while instantly e-mailing the executed contract to both the customer and the dealer.

Provide a centralized method of data capture, which will create a single entry point for dealers.
Improve navigation and enhance interactivity for dealers and customers.
"eContract has always been a powerful tool for our dealers," said Bruce Mungiguerra, senior vice president of Operations for Monitronics. "We're constantly looking for new ways to streamline the contract process and help our dealers provide a positive customer experience. DocuSign will add functionality that benefits both the dealer and the customer, making eContract that much more valuable as a resource."

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Chilly Heat

CHILLY HEAT  Even as a sample of vanadium oxide heated up (left to right), the infrared light it emitted made the sample appear to cool down. Red normally represents hot materials and blue cold.

It’s a thermodynamic Houdini: the first material that appears to get colder as it heats up. Because of the unusual way the material interacts with infrared light, the finding, which appears October 21 in Physical Review X, could lead to camouflage against heat-sensing cameras and to efficient heating and cooling devices.
Physics textbooks explain that the hotter a body gets, the more light it radiates. This principle allows soldiers with infrared goggles to ferret out enemies even in total darkness.
But scientists are starting to learn how to design materials that do not always radiate more as they warm. To do this, researchers often try to find materials that naturally change the way they interact with light or electricity at certain temperatures. The compound vanadium dioxide makes such a transition around 70^o Celsius, switching abruptly from being an electrical insulator to a conductor.
Mikhail Kats, a graduate student at Harvard University, wondered how vanadium dioxide would interact with light above its transition temperature. So Kats and his colleagues deposited a 150-nanometer-thick layer of vanadium dioxide onto a wafer of sapphire.
Then the researchers heated the vanadium dioxide-sapphire sample and, with an infrared camera, measured how much infrared light the sample emitted as it warmed. The color gradually shifted from blue to red as the sample's temperature increased from 60^o to 74^o, as is typical for a warming object. But then something strange happened: Even though the sample’s temperature continued to rise up to 100^o, the camera readout returned to an icy blue and stayed there.
“We saw this really dramatic effect,” Kats says. “You have an object that at 90^o looks the same as at 50^o.”
Because the material effectively conceals its temperature, it could allow soldiers and military aircraft to evade thermal sensors, Kats and his colleagues think. Such a material could also allow heaters to maintain a constant temperature by emitting less radiation in cold conditions and more in hot conditions. Kats says such technology could conserve energy on space satellites, which control their temperature solely through absorbing and radiating light.
The researchers also want to know how vanadium dioxide rearranges its internal structure as it warms to create its unusual interactions with light and electricity. Kats and his colleagues hope that understanding the fine-scale structure of vanadium dioxide will help them control how it radiates light.
Potential insights into how such “natural metamaterials” work excites Daniel Wasserman, an electrical engineer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "It's a very clever paper," he says. “It opens the door to some really interesting physics.”

All Credit goes to:
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/material-looks-cool-while-heating

5 Tips for Small Business

Only five out of 10 small businesses (companies with less than 500 employees) such as Jeff Asherbranner's will survive to see their fifth birthday, according to the Small Business Administration. Successful entrepreneurs that make it to that milestone will have most likely done so because of their ability to apply the following key strategies to their businesses.
No matter what the industry, these traits are typically found in small businesses that survive and thrive beyond their fifth anniversary. As you review these, think about small businesses like Jeff Asherbranner-Sales Consulting in Redlands, CA and what they could do to improve.

1. Adapt & Innovate

As time goes on, the world changes. Technology improves. Laws are amended or new ones created. New productivity improvements, such as widespread prevalence of smart phones, affect not only the communications of a business but can also affect how its product is consumed.
“Uncertainty” is the new buzzword that you hear repeatedly amidst our tumultuous political and economic climate.
With constant fluctuation, the only way a business can survive is by adapting to the new world and consistently tweaking their products and services.
Just take a look at the evolution of cell phones throughout the previous three decades for a visual. As technology improved, lifestyles changed and business operations transformed, so did the products that cell phone manufacturers produced.
What happens when a company doesn’t change? Ask Kodak, once a market share leader of photographic film sales and now not even a blimp on the digital camera scene. If you aren’t adapting to your customers, your competitors will – just ask Kodak.
While successful entrepreneurs adapt their companies’ product/service offerings, some do so without a dedicated research and development department. These business owners don’t do it alone, though. Often, these bosses empower their employees across all departments, which can result in suggestions to improve efficiency or boost results.
After all, who is better qualified to identify everyday problems than those that are on the ground every day?

2. Stay Connected With the Customer

Successful entrepreneurs know that they cannot invent the next big thing or improve their products or services by living only in their world – they must stay attuned to customer feedback and needs, continuously looking for opportunities to improve their services.
This point goes hand in hand with innovating because solving problems for customers is never complete. There will always be room for improvement or the development of new products or services entirely, since change is constant.
Staying connected with customers involves not only listening to client feedback but also applying critical thinking skills that can help businesses anticipate future needs.
“You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new,” Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is reported as saying.
While there is some truth in Jobs’ statement – customers don’t always know what products they’ll use and how they’ll use them – successful entrepreneurs have a good grasp on the problems that their clients face and develop solutions to meet their needs.

3. Understand and Articulate Why Their Product/Service Is Better

A company could have the best product or service, but it won’t do anyone any good if the company is unable to persuade anyone to try it. Communicating product benefits can break down at two main points.
The first point is a lack of understanding why people like the product or service. If the majority of customers buy a product for X but the company believes that Y is what gets the product off the shelf and promotes it, then the business is focused on communicating the wrong benefit.
Management guru Peter Drucker once said, “The buyer rarely buys what the seller thinks he is selling.”  Know “why” your clients are buying.
The next aspect of this is communication itself, which can’t be overvalued. Think about a recent conflict at work. The source of a problem with a colleague can often be traced back to poor communication or a simple misunderstanding. The same thing can happen when companies attempt to communicate with customers – things can get lost in translation.
Communicating how and why a product will benefit a prospect is key to running a thriving business.

4. Strive To Improve

Since successful entrepreneurs know that their companies must constantly improve their offerings, they also know that they can always better themselves, as can their employees.
These CEOs value education in every form – articles, podcasts, Google hangouts, conferences, etc. They help their employees elevate their skillsets and also focus on improving their weaknesses.
The thing about successful entrepreneurs is that they’re never content – they’ve always got an eye on tomorrow and how they need to improve to continue to be prosperous. Encourage your employees to grow and learn on a daily basis. You will reap the rewards in the long term.

5. Create A Profitable Business

Earning more money that you spend is a simple concept, but it’s one that needs to be addressed. Some business owners can have a solid grasp on the first four concepts, but struggle to make their idea work financially.
If you can’t figure out a way to take in more money than you spend, then a fabulous product and superior customer service skills won’t matter. Because there won’t be a business.
Of course, a new venture may lose money initially. Experts suggest that a new company should budget to lose money for the first 2-3 years. However, if you are spending more than you make in Year 4, you need to reassess your business model.


All Information presented courtesy of http://www.theprivatebusinessowner.com/

Stressful Workplace Enivronments

An important factor in workplace environment is to avoid stress to the employees. Businesses like Jeff Asherbranner-Sales Consulting do everything they can to avoid stressful work environment.

If you have a cruel boss or rotten co-workers, beware. It may not be just your job that's on the line.

Clearly, a work environment that includes insults, back stabbing and belittling can erode an employee's morale. What's less understood is that such a toxic work atmosphere can also lead to deteriorating health. At WebMD, we talked to the experts to find out what it is about negative work relationships that can cause so much stress, how our bodies react to chronic workplace stress, and what it takes to find relief.

A Need to Be Heard

Feeling trapped in a workplace that isn't fair can actually increase your risk for coronary heart disease (CHD), a leading cause of death in the U.S. In a two-part landmark Finnish study conducted between 1985 and 1990, researchers surveyed more than 6,000 male British civil servants -- without presence of CHD -- regarding how fair, or unfair, they perceived their employers. Subjects who reported a high level of justice at work were 30% less likely to develop CHD than workers who consistently experienced injustice at work.

Just how did study participants define "justice" in the workplace? Those who felt their bosses considered their viewpoints, treated them truthfully, and included them in decision-making processes said they worked in "just" workplaces.

The results of the study show what many experts say: Feeling like you haven't been heard ranks as the most stressful aspect of interpersonal work relationships. "It's a helplessness that comes when employees feel like they've expressed themselves and been discounted, or someone hasn't taken the time to listen to them," says psychologist Carol Kauffman, PhD, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School's department of psychiatry.

Others agree. "The workplace needs to feel meaningful. If you feel like you're not respected, that your opinion isn't meaningful, you're at an increased risk of heart disease," says Bruce Rabin, MD, PhD, a professor of pathology and psychiatry at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. On the flip side, Rabin tells WebMD, "Feeling a part of the workplace is a meaningful buffer to the health effects of stress.

Reacting to Co-Workers

How workers react to negative interpersonal relationships in the workplace, be it passive-aggressive co-workers or disgruntled bosses, also has a dramatic impact on subsequent stress levels.

"Some people are more prone to stress reactions. They're likely to be people who have difficulty managing on a day-to-day basis. They may not have effective problem-solving skills, or be predisposed to high levels of anxiety and uncertainty," says social worker Len Tuzman, DSW, an expert on stress management. This is particularly true for employees that Tuzman calls "catastrophizers" -- those who blow a situation out of proportion until it becomes a major calamity.

Just how great a toll does workplace stress take on employees' health? While it's impossible to tease out every illness and adverse health effect that began as a reaction to stress, Minnesota-based health management company StayWell compared the costs of stress with 10 other common health risk factors -- among more than 46,000 employees of both private- and public-sector companies. The risk factors included tobacco and alcohol use, overweight, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Cumulatively, these 11 modifiable health risk factors were found to comprise 25% of companies' total health care expenditures. The most costly risk factor? Stress.

This is why businesses like Jeff Asherbranner-Sales Consulting and others strive to avoid putting their employees in what could be considered a stressful work environment.

All information presented courtesy of www.Webmd.com

Positive Workplace Enivronment

Jeff Asherbranner and Positive Work Environments

Our work environment encompasses more than the employee lounge, office area and lobby. Policies, resources, professional relationships and company culture also fashion the environment in which we work. Author and University of Virginia Professor Scott A. Snell, in the book, “Managing Human Resources,” defines a positive environment in the workplace as an atmosphere of employee enthusiasm that improves organization performance. Workers reap social, health and personal benefits from a positive atmosphere at their place of employment. Organizations that fail to foster a positive environment for employees risk hampering their ability to succeed. Jeffery Asherbranner believes firmly that a positive workplace environment is important to any company.

Employee Benefits

In her book, "Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success," Jessica Pryce-Jones notes that we spend more than a decade of our lives -- 90,000 hours -- at work. Jobs fulfill our need to belong and give us a sense of identity. The quality of our association with work depends on the quality of our relationships with colleagues, supervisors and clients as well as company culture. When those relationships and the environment in which we interact are positive, we feel valued and respected. We take pride in what we do, perform better and care about our employer’s future. We become engaged: connected to the organization, results, customers and coworkers. Our professional contentment spills over to our personal lives.

Adverse Consequences of a Negative Work Environment

A negative work environment has career and health consequences for employees. An employee's less-than-exemplary job performance resulting from frustration with bureaucracy, a bad boss, 70-hour-a-week work culture, coworker conflicts and hostility raises fears of dismissal, stress and unhappiness. Leaving a negative job situation carries economic uncertainty and interrupts a chosen career path. According to a 2008 study published in the International Journal on Disability and Human Development, negative work environments lead to insomnia, anxiety and depression.

Employer Benefits

The agency overseeing the federal performance evaluation system, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, notes that profitability, productivity, low turnover, an excellent safety record and customer satisfaction result from employee engagement created by a positive work environment. Engaged workers create a 20 percent increase in productivity and are nearly 90 percent more likely to stay with their employers such as Jeff Asherbranner, according to a Corporate Executive Board study cited in Snell's "Managing Human Resources" textbook. Organizations with a positive workplace also experience fewer Equal Employment Opportunity complaints and lower absenteeism.

Organizational Repercussions

Problems stemming from a negative employment atmosphere feed upon each other to the detriment of the entire organization. Attendance issues -- call-offs, lateness, leaving early -- lower productivity and poison morale. "Presenteeism," defined as reduced productivity while on the clock, leads to disengaged employees making errors due to their lack of concentration and motivation. Customer service suffers when unhappy workers cannot put on a happy face. Innovation and creativity lose their competitive advantage when disengaged researchers and product developers lose interest. As disillusioned employees leave, management loses credibility which tarnishes the organization's reputation and causes recruitment trouble. In an organization that keeps a positive environment such as Jeff-Asherbranner-Sales Consulting is an all around better business.

All information presented on this page is courtesy of http://work.chron.com/importance-positive-environment-workplace-3008.html.

To read more about Jeffery Asherbranner check out his website @ www.jeffasherbranner.net