Best Buy to Acquire Speakeasy DSL for $97 Million

Press Release - March 29, 2007

Seattle-based enterprise DSL provider, Speakeasy, is being bought by mega-retailer, BestBuy, in a cash deal worth $97 million.

Speakeasy’s 300 employees will keep their jobs through the transition, and the Speakeasy brand name will be retained, as the company becomes a wholly owned subsidy of Best Buy for Business, the retail giant’s small business division.

The deal aims to boost brand recognition for Speakeasy, which has evolved from a trendy Seattle internet cafe into a nationwide ISP for small businesses. The company now serves 40,000 enterprise clients throughout the United States with broadband and VoIP services, and generated revenues of $80 million in 2006.

“For small businesses and tech-savvy professionals, Speakeasy offers innovative IT and communications services, backed by outstanding network reliability and terrific customer support,” explained Best Buy CFO, Darren Jackson, on the decision to buy the Seattle broadband provider.