The acquisition, which also includes 100% of FCMS’s businesses in Lesotho, Namibia and Botswana, is expected to be completed by 1 March. The total cash consideration will be around £17 million, depending on the closing debt position.

FCMS was founded in 1957 and is the market leader in the South African cash services market with over 60% of the South African market and over 3,000 employees throughout Africa. In 2006, the business had estimated turnover of £54 million, operating profit of £7 million and debt of around £19 million.

FCMS is one of the few cash services businesses in South Africa with the capability and infrastructure to provide services on a national basis, delivering cash transportation services and ATM management, along with retail and wholesale cash processing.

Nick Buckles, Chief Executive of Group 4 Securicor, commented:

“We are delighted to announce the acquisition of FCMS, which underlines G4S’s strategy of acquiring market-leading cash services businesses, as well as supporting our strategic objective of continuing to develop our presence in developing markets.

The transaction provides G4S with a cash services proposition in South Africa for the first time and we are now the market leader in both cash services and security services in the region. The acquisition of FCMS therefore enables G4S to offer customers complete security solutions in a growing number of countries in Africa. G4S currently operates in 18 African countries, providing cash services in 9 of those countries.”