Mergers & acquisitions.

• Position: New England Security - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Space Imaging

DEALS MARK VITALITY

In a small-business economy like Colorado's, merger-and-acquisition activity can serve as a barometer of economic vitality. When companies ranging from Quizno's, the Denver-based, toasted sub-sandwich empire, or Red Hawk Industries, a securities-systems integrator based in Greenwood Village, are the subjects of news stories that suggest they are for sale--or, in the case of Red Hawk, in an acquiring mode--New York and West Coast investment managers, larger Chicago and Texas companies, even Colorado-based equity-investment firms and venture capitalists are alerted to increasing value in the Colorado business community.

The announcements of deals also can mean Colorado business founders and owners are about to become more wealthy as a result of their enterprise, and that often bodes well for future business spending in the state's economy.

Here's this month's significant mergers and acquisitions:

RED HAWK INDUSTRIES/NEW ENGLAND SECURITY/NATIONAL NETWORK SERVICES

Red Hawk Industries, Greenwood Village, which three days after Christmas announced its 15th acquisition since the company started, was reported to have bought its 16th company in the first week of January, National Network Services of Centennial in Colorado. The 15th purchase was of New England Security, a Massachusetts-based security systems integrator in the financial-services sector. Red Hawk also is a security-systems integrator, and National Network Services helps monitor employee theft in a variety of industries. No terms were announced for either transaction.

QUIZNO'S

Denver-based Quizno's, the nationwide private, submarine sandwich chain controlled by father-and-son team Dick and Rick Shaden, is reportedly seeking buyers through Goldman Sachs Group Inc. of New York. The sandwich company, founded in Denver where it developed its signature toasted subs, could fetch as much as $2 billion, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

SPACE IMAGING/ORBIMAGE HOLDINGS

Orbimage Holdings, a Virginia-based founding company of the space-imaging industry, as was Thornton-based Space Imaging, completed its $58.5 million purchase of the Colorado company, which in essence saved about 135 Space Imaging jobs, including more than 100 in Thornton. The merged companies will be renamed Geo-Eye but headquartered in Dulles, Va., where Orbimage has been located. Longmont-based DigitalGlobe was the other founding company of the industry, which depends on...