Dec. 3, 2003 -- Data center operator Data393 has offered to acquire hosting provider Ventures Online in a deal that would combine two Denver-area providers.
Data393 launched last year, operating out of a former COLO.COM facility in the Inverness Business Park in Englewood, a suburb of Denver. The deal would expand its offerings, which currently include colocation and managed servers. Ventures Online is a significant player in the hosting reseller market, offering programs that allow customers to automate the creation and maintenance of shared hosting accounts.
"We have signed a letter of intent to acquire certain assets of Ventures Online as part of a transaction in which Ventures Online will move into our data center," said Lee Woodward, president of Data393. "The combined companies will be one of the few web hosting companies to own its data center and be profitable with positive cash flow. We are excited about the opportunity to join with Ventures Online and continue to grow its hosting business."
Ventures Online CEO John Burns confirmed that the company is discussing a business combination, but offered no details in a post at Web Hosting Talk.
"What I can tell you is that Ventures Online is indeed in discussions with another company," wrote Burns. "The ultimate goal is to enhance the resources of the company so as to provide the very best products and services for its customers. We expect that there will be some changes in roles and responsibilities, which will be announced when all of these details are finalized, but the current customer focus and core values of Ventures Online will remain the same.
Burns said Ventures Online's staff are expected to remain and there will be no immediate changes.
"Ventures Online has built a solid business by providing excellent service to its web hosting customers," said Woodward. "This change will enhance the company's reliable service and performance by moving its operations into a facility with more bandwidth from Tier 1 providers."
Customers of Data393 include Hughes Network Systems and ToolCASE, which provides technology solutions for credit unions. Woodward bought the building housing Data393 in 1993 and later leased it to COLO.COM, which invested $8.5 million in finishing the site as a raised-floor data center. COLO.COM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May, 2001 and returned the space to Woodward's company.
Formed in September 1997, Ventures Online grew from a web design and hosting business targeting small to medium size Internet businesses to a full service technologically advanced hosting company. In 2001, Ventures Online reorganized, specializing in a wide range of Internet solutions from virtual and dedicated hosting to colocation services, domain services and data warehousing.