CornerStone Telephone Completes Acquisition of Richmond companies
From: Smith & JonesBy:
04/09/09
Troy, NY (March 31, 2009)--CornerStone Telephone Company, an integrated communications provider, announced today the completion of the acquisition of Richmond Telephone and Richmond Networx.
The transaction was completed at the close of business on March 31. The loan was provided by Berkshire Bank; terms of the deal will not be released.
“The closing of the deal with Richmond Telephone and Richmond Networx increases CornerStone’s footprint in the Northeast,” said Dan Yamin, Chief Executive Officer for CornerStone Telephone Company. “After 18 months in talks, we are excited to bring our product and service offerings to businesses in western Massachusetts.”
"As one of Massachusetts' oldest and largest independent banks, we are pleased to provide the senior financing to assist CornerStone Telephone in acquiring the Richmond Telephone Company,” said Joseph P. Richardson, New York Regional Leader of Berkshire Bank. “As a leader in our communities in Massachusetts, New York and Vermont, we are committed to providing the resources and innovative lending programs to all our business customers."
The acquisition grows CornerStone’s customer base 13,000 customers and 58,000 lines and lays the groundwork for an expansion into the Berkshire region of Western Massachusetts. The acquisition is expected to increase CornerStone’s revenue by about $6 million per year.
Over the past year, CornerStone has implemented a variety of initiatives to distinguish itself in the marketplace. They have added service offerings and additional technical support, including alarm services, SkySphere (a Software as a Service product), SkySphere Voice, a hosted telephone product, and subscription-based software services, and the acquisition of customer accounts in the Southern Tier region of New York State.
About CornerStone Telephone Company
CornerStone Telephone Company is an integrated communications provider specializing in services for business customers. The company provides it’s customers with the highest level of customer support while offering competitive service rates. CornerStone has over 50,000 access lines, providing local and long distance telephone service, high-speed Internet access, VoIP, security services and business telephone systems. The company services customers in New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
Established in 2001 by Dan Yamin and Don Walsh, CornerStone has over 115 employees and 10,000 customers. The company is headquartered in Troy, N.Y. with offices in Syracuse, Oneonta, Buffalo, New York City, and Poughkeepsie and was voted fastest growing mid-size company and one of the Best Places to Work in the New York State Capital Region in 2007 and 2008. For more information, visit www.cornerstonetelephone.com..
About Berkshire Hills Bancorp
Berkshire Hills Bancorp is headquartered in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It has approximately $2.7 billion in assets and is the parent of Berkshire Bank - America's Most Exciting Bank (SM). Berkshire provides personal and business banking, insurance, wealth management, and investment services through 48 banking and insurance offices in western Massachusetts, northeastern New York, and southern Vermont. Berkshire Bank also offers the added benefit of providing its depositors 100% insurance protection, regardless of amount, based on a combination of FDIC insurance and the Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF). For more information, visit www.berkshirebank.com or call 800-773-5601.
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