Wednesday, April 9, 2008

ABRY pays $140M for data center firm Hosted Solutions

East Coast data center operator Hosted Solutions, which operates a facility in Charlestown formerly owned by Boston Datacenters Inc., has been acquired by local private equity firm ABRY Partners for $140 million.

The deal will keep Hosted Solutions' headquarters in Raleigh, N.C., and is expected to provide the company with access to additional capital to help fund growth, according to company statements.

Hosted Solutions acquired its local facility in Charlestown in late 2006 with the acquisition of Boston Datacenters. The facility is well-known in the data center industry -- it is one of the few sites in the nation to be located on two power grids, providing added power security for customers, according to officials.

ABRY Partners was named a top recapitalization/financing dealmaker in 2007 by Mass High Tech and ACG Boston.

ABRY provides financing for media and communications companies, claiming $21 billion worth of transactions since its inception in 1989, and representing investments in more than 500 media and business properties. Portfolio companies include Boston-based service provider Atlantic Broadband LLC, Florida background music provider Musak LLC and Canadian aviation information technology provider Navtech.

ABRY was co-founded by former Bain & Co. partners Andrew Banks and Royce Yudkoff.

Hosted Solutions posted 2007 revenue of $17 million in 2007, and is projecting $38 million in 2008 revenue, according to the Triangle Business Journal in Raleigh, N.C.