Electronics retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. has acquired Speakeasy Inc., a broadband voice, data and IT service provider. The transaction is valued at roughly $97 million, and is expected to close during the first quarter of Best Buy’s financial 2008 year.
Speakeasy generated around $80 million in revenue during 2006.
The move expands Best Buy’s ability to market both products and services to small businesses. “By joining forces with Speakeasy, a company with a true passion for helping entrepreneurs run their businesses, we are making technology more accessible to small businesses by creating a single source for their IT needs,” said Darren Jackson, Best Buy executive vice president and CFO, in a statement.
Speakeasy started in 1994 as a chain of Seattle-based Internet cafes. Through the years it has grown to offer business class broadband and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). The company employs about 300 people.
Bruce Chatterley, the company’s CEO, will continue in his current role and will report to David Hemler, vice president, who has oversight for Best Buy For Business, the strategic business unit of Best Buy that is dedicated to serving the needs of small businesses, according to a statement from Best Buy. In addition to Chatterley, the entire Speakeasy executive team will remain with the company.
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