SAN FRANCISCO-AirTouch Communications Inc. plans to acquire the assets of Message Center Beepers, a privately held paging company with more than 280,000 subscribers in the Northeast.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter 1996; financial terms were not disclosed.
Message Center primarily serves Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The deal will give AirTouch Paging more than two million units in service in 25 states, the company said.
“This is a logical acquisition for AirTouch,” said Eric Zachs, president and chief operating officer of Message Center Beepers. The company has more than 700 transmitters in service nationwide and has doubled its customer base during the last two years. “In the past year alone, we’ve added 100,000 paging units,” Zachs said.
AirTouch holds nationwide and regional licenses to provide narrowband personal communications services, such as two-way paging. The Message Center acquisition will give AirTouch a foothold in the northeastern region, said Todd Parker, vice president of marketing for AirTouch Paging.
“Through this acquisition, we can enter a strategically important part of the country quickly and cost-effectively, allowing us to serve our national customers better,” Parker said.
Message Center Beepers is AirTouch Paging’s first major acquisition. Previous growth has come from expanding its existing operations, AirTouch said.
