G4S seals £5.2bn takeover of ISS

G4S, which runs four prisons and is training security guards to work at the London Olympics, will develop its business in areas such as catering and cleaning after agreeing to buy Denmark-based ISS.

ISS is owned by private equity companies EQT and GS Capital and boasts high-profile contracts with Citigroup and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The deal will mean that G4S, which was already the FTSE 100 Index’s biggest employer, will have a total of 1.2 million employees.

G4S has launched a £2bn cash call to shareholders to help pay for the deal, which is expected to lead to cost savings of £100m a year by 2014.