News Details

Telephone and Data Systems to Acquire OneNeck® IT Services Corporation

06/28/2011
Largest hosted and managed services transaction to date demonstrates commitment to rapidly growing industry.

MADISON, Wis., June 28, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., (NYSE: TDS, TDS.S) parent company to TDS Telecommunications Corp., announces it will acquire OneNeck® IT Services headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz. for a purchase price of $95 million. OneNeck, which generated annual revenues of $37 million in 2010, will be a subsidiary of TDS Hosted & Managed Services, LLC (TDS HMS).

OneNeck is a premier provider of hosted application management and managed IT hosting services to middle market businesses. The firm specializes in supporting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications. OneNeck's managed hosting services include management and monitoring of client IT infrastructure, both client-owned and OneNeck provided. The firm offers network management, disaster recovery, security administration, and end-user support on a 24/7 basis.

The company has operations centers in Tempe and Gilbert, Ariz., and significant customer engagements in Somerset, N.J., Dallas, Texas, and Kansas City, Mo.

"Our strategy is to have a robust suite of offerings, including colocation, managed services, hosting, cloud, and solutions delivery," states William Megan, president of TDS HMS and executive vice president at TDS Telecommunications Corp. "OneNeck brings sophisticated hosted application management and managed hosting to our product portfolio that will enable us to leverage the data center assets recently acquired with VISI and TEAM."

OneNeck operates 12,000 sq. ft. of data center space in Ariz. In addition, they have a strategic partnership with Datapipe(TM) to access data center space in Somerset, N.J., allowing them to service numerous east coast customers. OneNeck is home to 230 employees who hold more than 300 technical certifications across 32 vendors.

"This is an exciting opportunity for both our customers and employees," Chuck Vermillion, OneNeck CEO and founder remarks. "Being a part of TDS will enhance our development of innovative cloud solutions and enable us to accelerate our overall growth strategies. Our unique culture and undying commitment to customer satisfaction remains unchanged and blends perfectly with TDS' values. We are delighted to join with TDS."

Frequently recognized in the industry for its business growth, customer service, and technical expertise, OneNeck ranks No. 3667 on Inc. Magazine's 5000 list and No. 50 on its Top Companies in the Phoenix metro area (based on OneNeck's 44 percent three-year growth rate). The company has been repeatedly selected by the Black Book of Outsourcing as the Number One Mid-Market Service Provider of Enterprise Resource Planning and Hosted Application Management worldwide.

In recent months, TDS Hosted & Managed Services, LLC has made major advancements to position itself in the fast-growing hosted and managed services arena by adding VISI Incorporated in March 2010 and TEAM Technologies, LLC in Dec. 2010 to its portfolio of operations.

"OneNeck has mature operational tools and capabilities, plus a strong management team and distinctive customer base that will provide a platform for growth of TDS' HMS initiatives, especially in the middle market segment," adds Megan.

TDS Telecommunications Corp. maintains management responsibility for the data center and hosting operations of VISI Incorporated and TEAM Technologies LLC through the newly formed TDS Hosted & Managed Services, LLC.

The transaction is expected to close on or about July 1, 2011. Stifel Nicolaus Weisel served as exclusive financial advisor to OneNeck IT Services in the transaction.

As the seventh largest telecom provider in the U.S., TDS Telecommunications Corporation (TDS®) connects people with broadband Internet, phone and TV entertainment services in hundreds of rural, suburban, and metropolitan communities in 30 states. With more than 40 years of experience and 1.1 million equivalent access lines in service, customers can select from the latest technologies, including: VoIP (managedIP) phone service, dedicated Internet, data networking, and hosted-managed services.

TDS Telecommunications Corp. also maintains management responsibility for the data center and hosting operations of VISI Incorporated and TEAM Technologies, LLC through the newly formed TDS Hosted & Managed Services, LLC. TDS HMS specializes in colocation, cloud computing, and disaster recovery solutions for businesses of all-sizes. In total, approximately 2,700 people work for the companies both in local communities and at TDS' national headquarters in Madison, Wis. Visit www.tdstelecom.com, www.tdsbusiness.com, www.visi.com and www.team-companies.com for more information.

TDS Telecommunications Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. [NYSE: TDS, TDS.S] Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., a Fortune 500® company, provides wireless, local and long-distance telephone and broadband services to nearly 7.1 million customers in 36 states through TDS Telecommunications Corp. and U.S. Cellular [NYSE: USM], its 83-percent owned wireless subsidiary. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Chicago, Telephone and Data Systems employed 12,100 employees as of March 31, 2011. Visit www.teldta.com for more information.

OneNeck® IT Services Corporation is a global leader for hosted application management, managed hosting, cloud services and infrastructure services. OneNeck supports a variety of enterprise applications, including ERP systems such as Oracle, Baan, JD Edwards, and Microsoft Dynamics AX. Our comprehensive portfolio offering includes application, database and network management, data center management, disaster recovery, virtual machine management, managed backup and storage and 24/7 customer support. OneNeck's global solutions enable customers to improve system performance and leverage their enterprise applications to deliver measurable business benefits. For additional information, visit the OneNeck IT Services home page at www.OneNeck.com.

SOURCE Telephone and Data Systems, Inc.