Leo Forges National Security Giant with Merger

DALLAS-FORT WORTH, TX – April 09, 2026 – In a significant move to consolidate the commercial facilities maintenance sector, Leo, a leading investment and management platform, has announced the merger of two of its key holdings, Academy Locksmith and Firstline Lock and Door. The newly formed entity, Academy Access Solutions, is poised to become a national powerhouse, offering a fully integrated suite of commercial access, security, and facility opening solutions across the United States.

This strategic combination, effective immediately, creates a single-source partner for businesses, designed to manage every entry point of a facility. The move reflects a powerful shift in the market, where clients increasingly demand comprehensive, streamlined services over managing a fragmented network of specialized vendors.

The Rise of the Integrated Facilities Solution

The creation of Academy Access Solutions is a direct response to a fundamental change in customer expectations within the facilities management industry. For years, facility managers and business owners have juggled multiple contractors for locksmithing, door repairs, glass installation, and electronic access control. This approach often leads to administrative headaches, inconsistent service quality across different locations, and potential security vulnerabilities.

Academy Access Solutions aims to eliminate these pain points by providing a unified offering. The company's expanded capabilities now encompass traditional locksmith services, manual and automatic doors, commercial glass, advanced electronic access control systems, and even overhead doors and docks. This "one-stop-shop" model is built to deliver consistency, efficiency, and peace of mind.

“This is a natural evolution for both businesses,” said Kenny Friede, President of Academy Access Solutions and President of Leo FS Specialty. “Locksmithing is where we started, and it remains central to who we are. What’s changed is that our customers have asked us to do more—across doors, glass, access control, and now overhead doors and docks. By bringing our teams together, we can meet those needs while continuing to deliver the same level of service our customers expect.”

This customer-driven strategy positions the new entity to capitalize on the growing trend of vendor consolidation, where large national clients seek partners who can scale with them and provide a uniform standard of excellence across their entire portfolio of properties.

From Lock and Key to Integrated Tech

While the company name pays homage to its roots in traditional craftsmanship, Academy Access Solutions represents the high-tech future of the security trade. The foundation of expert locksmithing remains a core component of the business, but it is now augmented by a suite of modern technological solutions that are transforming building security. The industry is rapidly moving beyond physical keys to embrace a world of smart access control, including biometric authentication, cloud-based management platforms, and mobile credentials stored on smartphones.

This merger is designed to bridge the gap between legacy hardware and cutting-edge digital systems. Leo's investment brings not only capital but a "technology-enabled delivery model" that empowers technicians and streamlines operations.

“Academy Locksmith and Firstline Lock and Door have been strong performers since joining Leo—exceptional service, consistent growth, and customer trust earned the right way. At the heart of that is talent," noted Cecil Moore, CEO of Leo. "Career technicians and great people who know this industry deeply, bring real craft to every job, and have embraced the technology that makes them faster, smarter, and more precise.”

By integrating these two teams, Academy Access Solutions combines the irreplaceable value of experienced technicians with the efficiency of modern field service management software, data analytics, and advanced diagnostic tools. This synthesis ensures that whether a client needs a simple lock rekeyed or a complex, multi-site integrated access control system installed, the company has the expertise and technological infrastructure to deliver.

Leo's Strategic Blueprint for National Dominance

The formation of Academy Access Solutions is not an isolated event but a calculated move in Leo's broader strategy to build a dominant national platform in the facilities maintenance space. Backed by the investment firm Orion Group, Leo has been methodically acquiring and integrating best-in-class, founder-owned businesses across essential service verticals, including plumbing, HVAC, janitorial services, and now, comprehensive access solutions.

This strategy is particularly potent in the highly fragmented, yet recession-resistant, facilities management market. Private equity investors are increasingly drawn to the sector's recurring revenue streams and the opportunity to create value through consolidation and technology. By bringing companies like Academy Locksmith and Firstline Lock and Door—both of which joined the Leo platform in February 2024—under a single, powerful brand, Leo achieves significant economies of scale and an expanded market footprint.

This approach allows the combined entity to serve tens of thousands of locations nationwide through a sophisticated hybrid delivery model. The model leverages regional self-perform capabilities for core markets, deployable project teams for complex installations, and a long-standing network of vetted service partners to ensure coverage in all 50 states. This structure is designed to offer the best of both worlds: the responsiveness and deep expertise of a local provider with the consistency, quality control, and technological backbone of a national corporation.

Building a National Service Engine

The promise of "Every entry. Every time." is more than a tagline for Academy Access Solutions; it is the operational principle guiding the integration. The merger creates significant operational synergies by consolidating resources, centralizing back-office functions, and standardizing processes to ensure a consistent customer experience. This integrated model is designed to be an efficient nationwide delivery platform, capable of dispatching the right technician with the right skills and parts to the right job, every time.

Central to this service engine is the hybrid delivery model. For routine maintenance and emergency repairs in major metropolitan areas, the company can deploy its own highly trained technicians, ensuring direct control over quality and response times. For large-scale national rollouts or specialized projects, dedicated project teams can be deployed anywhere in the country. This is all supported by a robust network of third-party service partners who have been rigorously vetted to meet Leo's high standards, ensuring a seamless experience for clients regardless of their location.

This infrastructure is powered by a significant investment in technology. Advanced work order management systems, mobile applications for field technicians, and data analytics platforms work in concert to optimize scheduling, track performance, and provide clients with transparent, real-time insights into their service requests. By combining top-tier talent with powerful technology, Leo is not just merging two companies; it is building a next-generation service platform engineered for reliability, scale, and superior customer outcomes in the critical field of commercial security.