VISI Incorporated Aquired by Telephone and Data Systems, Inc.

(Gawkwire.com)  Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has acquired Minnesota data center services and managed hosting provider, VISI Incorporated. TDS, headquartered in Madison, Wis. will have oversight and management responsibility for the acquisition.

VISI, headquartered in the Twin Cities, provides a wide range of information technology solutions, including: managed hosting, co-location and cloud-computing services to businesses of all sizes, from technology start-ups to large enterprises.  TDS markets communications services to business and residential customers in 30 states, including Minnesota.  

Dave Wittwer, President and CEO for TDS Telecommunications Corp. remarked, "VISI brings a successful and talented team with a proven track record for providing high quality data center and managed hosting services.  VISI’s broad capabilities and extensive service set, combined with its valuable facilities, including an expanding SAS 70 Type II certified data center in St. Paul and a state-of-the-art data center under construction in Eden Prairie, Minn., position us well for growth in a dynamic marketplace."

Mike Sowada, CEO of VISI commented on the transaction, "TDS shares a strong focus with us on service quality, is well regarded in the communications space and believes, at its core, that exceptional customer care and tailored services represent the best value to all their customers.  With the financial strength of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., a Fortune 500® company, VISI and TDS are poised to grow our combined businesses and invest in evolving services that customers are demanding in the Twin Cities and across the broader regional and national footprint of TDS."

TDS and VISI see the transformative power that effective information technology and communications infrastructure management can have on established and emerging businesses alike. As more companies strive to seamlessly manage massive amounts of mission critical data, network applications, security services and risk, partnering with experts in IT and communications infrastructure management such as VISI and TDS will allow companies to focus all of their energy on business operations.

Dave Wittwer of TDS concludes, "Leveraging the core competencies of both organizations to strengthen our value proposition to existing and future customers is our goal; a goal that we will attack with tenacity as we move forward."

Stifel, Nicholas & Company, Incorporated acted as financial advisor to TDS with respect to the acquisition.