Birch Communications was established in 1996 to provide small and medium-size businesses with comprehensive communications solutions in a rapidly changing environment. Since that time, the company has grown to 50 states across the U.S. and the District of Columbia. Today it provides a wide range of services, including local and long distance voice, broadband Internet access, T1, PRI, bonded T1, mobile voice and data, and other ICT services. One of the reasons the company has been making steady progress is the acquisition of 20 key assets since 2006, and Cbeyond is the latest organization to be part of Birch Communications.
According to the company, the acquisition of Cbeyond was an all-cash transaction valued at around $323 million. The combined resources of both companies will create a nationwide communications, cloud and managed services provider with close to 200,000 business customers generating revenues of $700 million in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
They will be able to provide a nationwide IP-based network in 22 states and Washington DC, with an infrastructure consisting of 31,000 fiber route miles, more than 550 fiber lit buildings, 594 network collocations, and six data centers.
Cbeyond is recognized for engineering and building the world's first business-class IP local network. This innovation has led to many accolades by industry organizations, including being the only company to win Microsoft’s Hosting Partner of the Year awards back-to-back. Before this acquisition it was a publicly traded company, generating revenues of $485 million.
Recent acquisition of Birch Communications include: Liberty-Bell, EveryCall, Lightyear Network Solutions, Ernest Communications, and Covista Communications. These acquisitions has given the company strategic assets to expand not only its network, but also new technologies, human capital, services and customers.
The company said it will maintain its headquarters in Atlanta, GA, and will use the Cbeyond facilities to be part of its new operations center for a variety functions including: customer care, engineering, operations, sales, finance and marketing
"Cbeyond is a great strategic fit for Birch. This acquisition creates a truly unrivaled communications and technology services powerhouse that can serve businesses at every stage of their lifecycle. We are building on our heritage of redefining the way businesses are served and supported, and are well-positioned to meet the accelerating demand for broadband and cloud-based services – competitively, strategically and financially," said Vincent M. Oddo, president and CEO of Birch.
Edited by
Adam Brandt
