Universal Protection Service was a

private security company A private security company (PSC) is a business entity which provides armed or unarmed security services and expertise to clients in the private or public sectors. Overview Private security companies are defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Sta ...

in the United States. It was part of

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

-based Universal Services of America, which merged in 2016 with fellow security service provider AlliedBarton to form

Allied Universal Allied Universal is an American provider of security systems and services, janitorial services, and staffing. The company was formed in 2016 by the merger of Universal Services of America, a Santa Ana, California-based security and janitorial ...

History

Universal Protection Service was founded in 1965. It started as a janitorial company and expanded into security by 1969. After acquiring the security business, the company was divided into four different divisions, under parent Universal Services, to reflect the company's overall business. In 2013, the Swiss investment firm

Partners Group Partners Group Holding AG is a Swiss-based global private equity firm with US$127 billion in assets under management in private equity, private infrastructure, private real estate and private debt. The firm manages a broad range of funds, struct ...

made an equity investment in the company. In November 2013, the company acquired Bannockburn, Illinois-based venue security company IPC International, at the time the company's largest acquisition. By 2015, the company was operating as a division of Universal Services of America. In February, Robert Stone, a former employee of Universal Protection Service filed an arbitration claim alleging that the company failed to pay overtime wages for all hours worked as well as minimum wage. Stone also asserted claims of additional wage violations including meal period and rest period violations, allegedly in violation of California and federal wage law. The company denied the allegations, but entered into a $30 million settlement to avoid the cost of litigation. The settlement was granted preliminary approval on November 22, 2017. In July 2015, Universal Services of America received an ownership investment from investment firm

Warburg Pincus Warburg Pincus LLC is a global private equity firm, headquartered in New York, with offices in the United States, Europe, Brazil, China, Southeast Asia and India. Warburg has been a private equity investor since 1966. The firm currently has over ...

, joining earlier owner investment firm Partners Group. Also in July, parent Universal Services acquired Memphis, Tennessee-based security firm

Guardsmark Guardsmark was a major provider of security services in North America, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1963, Guardsmark was the fourth largest security company and the only major provider privately held by one family. The family- ...

, and became the largest privately owned security contractor in the US. Guardsmark's founder, Ira A. Lipman, joined UPS's board as vice chairman. In 2016, Universal Services of America merged with fellow security services firm AlliedBarton to form Allied Universal. In February 2017, the company officially began operations under its new name.

Operations

Universal Protection Service offered security services and was located in Santa Ana, California. It was a division of Universal Services of America, with three other divisions: Universal Building Maintenance (janitorial and maintenance), Universal Protection Security Systems (security system installation and management), and Universal Fire/Life Safety (fire safety planning and training). Universal Services of America was owned by investment firms is owned Warburg Pincus and Partners Group.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Universal Protection Service Business services companies established in 1965 Companies based in Santa Ana, California 1965 establishments in California