Madison, WI – May 16, 2005 – Berbee Information Networks Corporation (Berbee) announced the acquisition of Strategies & Solutions, LLC (S&S). Berbee, headquartered in Madison, WI and S&S, headquartered in Appleton, WI are leading providers of technology solutions including Cisco Systems infrastructure, Microsoft operating systems and applications, and IBM server and storage hardware. The companies serve a variety of businesses in the Midwest. The combined revenues will exceed $300 million in fiscal 2005. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“The combination will allow both organizations to cross-sell their respective products and services into the extensive client base of each company. In addition, the geographic fit is excellent, as S&S will strengthen Berbee’s existing Appleton presence, while further enhancing the capabilities of Berbee’s other Western Region offices located in Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Wausau,” said Paul Shain, President of Berbee.
“Combining the two organizations accelerates the growth opportunities of both companies. The new organization will be able to provide a very strong portfolio of technology services that customers are demanding,” said Todd Johnson, President and one of three principals of S&S.
S&S has established itself as a premier provider of hardware, software and technical solutions built around IBM’s iSeries mid-range server product line. This platform has been a workhorse for IBM since the mid-1980s, and is widely deployed in manufacturing, education, and state and local governments. These capabilities will augment Berbee’s strong position as a total IT solution provider to companies in the Midwest utilizing server and storage technologies from IBM, operating and productivity applications from Microsoft, and data and voice infrastructure from Cisco.
All of S&S’s 16 staff members are expected to remain with Berbee, and the combined entity will remain a private organization. The company will have approximately 630 staff members and be headquartered in Madison, WI. Todd Johnson, Chuck Puyleart, and Eric Ludvigson, founders of S&S, will join Berbee. James Berbee will remain Chairman, Berbee Information Networks Corporation.
About Berbee – www.berbee.com:
Selected as Cisco’s 2005 Global IP Communications Partner of the Year and Microsoft’s Midwest District Partner of the Year, Berbee provides the essential components for driving sustained business growth using technology. Services offered include data center solutions, networking infrastructure, and high-value application services. Clients have come to rely on Berbee’s expertise in emerging technologies and the integration of those technologies into their business environments. Berbee is among a handful of companies worldwide to achieve top partner designations with Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco.
Berbee has offices in Madison, Milwaukee, Appleton, Wausau, Minneapolis, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Additional information about Berbee is available at www.berbee.com.
About Strategies and Solutions, LLC – www.strategies-llc.com:
Strategies & Solutions LLC is an IBM Premier Business Partner specializing in the IBM iSeries (AS/400), xSeries, Storage, WebSphere, and Lotus product lines. In addition to providing IBM hardware, software and related technical services, S&S boasts a core set of solutions-based practice areas including eBusiness, document management, messaging and collaboration, business intelligence, and networking infrastructure. Clients have come to rely on S&S to deliver cost-effective solutions tailored to their needs—on time and on budget.
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For Media Information
Berbee
Paul Shain, President
608.298.1233
Strategies & Solutions
Todd Johnson, President
920-996-1447
