Eden Prairie-based Datalink Corp. has agreed to acquire privately-held Bear Data Solutions Inc. for $18.5 million.
San Francisco-based Bear Data had 2013 revenues of $130 million primarily from sales of networking products, including Cisco wireless, routing and core switches. Bear Data has offices in San Francisco, San Jose, Irvine and San Diego and sells primarily to customers in California.
Datalink's 2013 revenues were $594.2 million and its net income was $10.0 million. The acquisition of Bear Data is expected to quadruple the Datalink's West Coast revenue base to more than $200 million.
"This is an important strategic acquisition that will significantly expand our West Coast operations and give us a large new base of customers for solutions and services that are beyond the scope of Bear's current offerings," said Datalink's president and CEO Paul Lidsky in the company's news release.
Don James, Bear Data's president and CEO, said in the statement, "Our customers will gain from the addition of Datalink's technical skills, expanded services set and 24/7 customer support center, and our employees will have the opportunity to work for a larger company with a bigger portfolio."
James and most of Bear Data's 80 employees are expected to remain with Datalink.
Shares of Datalink were trading at $10.25 down 2.4 percent early Monday.
Patrick Kennedy • 612-673-7926
