Best Buy buys web-access provider Speakeasy Inc. for $97 million

Best Buy Co. Inc. is entering the Internet access and data services business by acquiring Speakeasy Inc., one of the largest independent broadband voice, data and IT service providers in the U.S. for about $97 million, the retailer reports. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of Best Buy’s 2008 fiscal year.

Speakeasy, which had revenue of $80 million in 2006, will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Best Buy.

“Buy joining forces with Speakeasy, a company with a true passion for helping entrepreneurs run their businesses, we are making technology more accessible to small businesses by creating a single source for their IT needs,” says Darren Jackson, Best Buy executive vice president and CFO. Best Buy is No. 11 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.

Speakeasy CEO Bruce Chatterley will continue in his current role and will report to David Hemler, vice president in charge of the Best Buy For Business unit, the retailer says.

Seattle-based Speakeasy opened one of the nation’s first Internet cafes and now has a full range of voice and data solutions to help small businesses improve productivity and cut costs. Its services are available in most metropolitan areas within the 48 contiguous states.

Best Buy’s Timothy Laudenbach, credit risk manager, is speaking at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition, June 4-7 in San Jose, in a session entitled Web Security: Identifying and Avoiding the Scam Artists.