RONCO Consulting Corporation is an American company specialising in mine and unexploded ordnance clearance, explosive ordnance disposal, security, and specialised training.
The price of the acquisition was not disclosed, but RONCO is said to have gross assets of $25 million.
Shares in G4S were up slightly on the London Stock Exchange on the news, rising by 0.66 percent to 228.750.
RONCO currently operates in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Sudan and has training centres in Mozambique and Sri Lanka. RONCO counts the U.S Departments of State and Defence, as well as the UN and NATO, among its customers.
Dave Foley, President and CEO of Wackenhut Services Incorporated (WSI) – the G4S division into which RONCO will fit – hailed the agreement as introducing more specialist skills into the business.
“The acquisition of RONCO significantly increases our capabilities in these specialist areas,” he said.
“RONCO’s reputation for service excellence is unrivalled in this market and the acquisition provides us with additional skills and expertise and is a natural fit for the development of the strategy of both WSI and G4S internationally.”
G4S is currently also in the final stages of buying London-based private security contractor ArmorGroup.
G4S has been on a buying spree over the last six months, purchasing Belgian event security firm First Security SPRL in October 2007, and prison firm Global Solutions Limited (GSL) in December 2007.
In March this year, it also bought UK event security giant Rock Steady Group and US private investigation company MJM Investigations.