Telephone and Data Systems acquires MSN Communications, Inc.
Solutions Provider transaction expands portfolio of TDS Hosted and Managed Services.
MADISON, Wis. (Oct. 8, 2013)—Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE: TDS) parent company to TDS Telecommunications Corp., today announced the acquisition of MSN Communications, Inc. headquartered in Englewood, Colo. for a purchase price of $40 million. MSN Communications generated annual revenues of $99 million in 2012. The acquisition amplifies TDS’ deep IT Solutions Provider capabilities and strong customer relationships in the portfolio of TDS Hosted & Managed Services, LLC (TDS HMS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fortune 500® company Telephone and Data Systems.
“I believe this is the right time and the right company for MSN Communications to join forces with,” says Doug Schuck, CEO of MSN Communications. “It’s a tremendous moment in our company’s twenty year history. I’m proud of our employees for building a company that is now part of a Fortune 500 organization.”
MSN Communications, through its team of 104 employees, offers a comprehensive suite of products and services, including: planning, engineering, procurement, installation, and management of IT infrastructure hardware solutions from world-class Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). The breadth and depth of technical certifications held by team members has allowed MSN Communications to achieve the highest level partner status with its vendors, including: Cisco, EMC, VMware, VCE, Appspace, NetApp, and F5.
President of TDS HMS, Phil LaForge, states “Doug Schuck and the MSN Communications employees have built an IT services powerhouse acting as a trusted advisor to companies throughout the Rocky Mountain Region. By joining forces with TDS HMS, MSN Communications is adding colocation and cloud services to their already robust services catalog. This means customers have even more choice and flexibility in the delivery of their mission critical IT.”
TDS HMS also announces it will construct a Tier 3 data center in Douglas County located southeast of the Denver metro area. The company expects to break ground on the facility early next year. The multi-phase project will accommodate rapid customer expansion with five phases of build-out covering up to 100,000 sq. feet. Engineering will mirror TDS HMS data center facilities in the Midwest. ReliaCloud™ will be deployed in the data center to provide a local cloud solution along with colocation services.
MSN Communications has grown its service offerings beyond its Value Added Reseller (VAR) roots to include hosted and managed IT services that complement the TDS HMS portfolio of products. In February, MSN Communications was named to CRN 2013 List of Tech Elite 250 and in 2012 it was recognized by the UBM Channel as part of CRN’s Solution Provider 500 list (formerly known as the VAR 500).
During the last three years, Telephone and Data Systems has made multiple strategic acquisitions to position TDS HMS in the fast-growing hosted and managed services arena. TDS HMS added Vital Support Systems, LLC in June 2012; ERP leader OneNeck® IT Services Corporation in June of 2011; VISI Incorporated in March 2010; and TEAM Technologies, LLC in Dec. 2010 to build its portfolio of Tier 3 data centers and enterprise-grade managed services.
TDS Telecommunications Corp. maintains management responsibility for the operations of TDS HMS, which now includes MSN Communications.
