Fresno-based video surveillance company Pelco sold for $110 million, new owners say
The Fresno-based security video company Pelco has been acquired by Motorola Solutions for $110 million in cash, Motorola Solutions announced Monday.
Motorola Solutions now has control of the Pelco company, which has been a Fresno-based job manufacturer of security and surveillance systems since 1982.
Pelco was founded in Southern California in 1957.
In the announcement about the acquisition, Motorola Solutions chairman and CEO Greg Brown praised Pelco’s track record and brand.
“Video continues to play a more powerful role in enabling safer cities and securing businesses around the world,” Brown said. “Pelco’s track record of innovation, internationally recognized brand, global channel and customer installed base enables us to further expand our global footprint with enterprise and public safety customers.”
Motorola Solutions, on its website, says it provides “mission-critical” communication products. It has more than 100,000 public safety and commercial customers across more than 100 countries.
Earlier purchase
The new purchase follows a deal made in 2019 when Pelco was sold to Southern California private equity group Transom Capital Group. The equity firm purchased the company from the previous owners, French conglomerate Schneider Electric. The terms of that sale were not disclosed.
In its earlier history, Pelco was bought by David McDonald, a Fresno philanthropist who has since died. The company’s reputation as a video surveillance equipment manufacturer has long been established in the Fresno area.
The company now has offices in north Fresno.
It also at one time had its headquarters in Clovis, at Peach and Dakota avenues. There, a tribute to the fallen of 9/11 is held annually and attracts hundreds of people.
Shrinking workforce
At one point the Pelco company employed 2,600 people at the Clovis campus. But more than two-thirds of the workforce had been cut by 2017. In 2010, the company had announced some operations would be moved to China.
Today the company employs 350 employees globally, down from 478 last year.
Under its new ownership, Pelco will function as a separate brand under Motorola Solutions’ Video Security and Analytics organization, according to Elyssa Macfarlane, a company spokeswoman.
She said the company’s market operations would remain unchanged.
This story was originally published August 3, 2020 at 12:07 PM.
