The long, blustery relationship between paging and messaging carriers Metrocall Holdings Inc. and WebLink Wireless Inc. appears to have come to a close, with Metrocall announcing it will acquire WebLink in a $21 million deal. The move creates a combined paging carrier covering 90 percent of the U.S. population with a one- and two-way paging network, counting about 3.7 million subscribers. The combined carrier now sits just behind industry leader Arch Wireless Inc., which commands about 4.5 million subscribers.
“This transaction culminates several years of successful partnering between Metrocall and WebLink on many paging and advanced messaging initiatives, and we believe this is a win for our combined customers and both companies,” said N. Ross Buckenham, WebLink’s chairman and chief executive officer. “For some time now, we have been focused on delivering reliable and cost-effective wireless data to leading industry resellers and enterprise customers. WebLink operates the nation’s most extensive paging and two-way messaging ReFLEX network, and Metrocall’s strengths are in its network assets and in marketing, distribution and customer service to business-to-business accounts. Combining our efforts with those of Metrocall will allow us to better serve our wholesale and reseller and business customer base with an even more comprehensive array of network and support services.”
Metrocall’s executives, including CEO Vincent Kelly, will continue to head the new company. WebLink executives including Buckenham will manage the transition, but have no assured positions in the new company. A Metrocall spokesman said the carrier had not yet decided on possible layoffs following the acquisition.
Paging industry watchers have discussed a combination of Metrocall and WebLink for years. Indeed, the industry has long been rife with predictions of massive consolidation, although little has actually happened until Metrocall’s announcement.
Metrocall pledged to provide a smooth transition for WebLink customers, and said subscribers would be able to retain their same account teams and billing interfaces and procedures. As part of the agreement, Metrocall and WebLink said they signed a management and spectrum lease deal until the Federal Communications Commission approves the combination. Metrocall boasted that the move will create a financially sound company with no long-term debt.
Metrocall has long resold WebLink’s two-way paging network-thus leading to predictions the two companies would get together. Indeed, the combination almost happened in 2001, when Metrocall and WebLink announced an ambitious plan to merge under concurrent bankruptcy filings. But Metrocall pulled out of the deal just a few weeks later after WebLink announced layoffs and sales channel cutbacks. Both companies then filed for bankruptcy separately. Sun Capital announced plans to purchase WebLink in bankruptcy, but those plans also fell apart. Holding company Leucadia National Corp. later purchased WebLink. Metrocall emerged from bankruptcy in October 2002. WebLink has worked to operate as a “carrier’s carrier,” selling its network to Metrocall, Arch, Verizon Wireless and others. Metrocall has worked to expand beyond paging by reselling voice services from AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and others.
The paging and messaging industry has seen massive declines during the past several years. The total number of paging subscribers has dropped from about 40 million in 1998 to its current 14 million. Indeed, in 2001 Metrocall and WebLink counted a combined total of 8.4 million subscribers, but now have 3.7 million.
In other paging and messaging news, infrastructure provider TGA Technologies Inc. said it will separate into TGA Systems Inc., which will serve the traditional one-way paging market, and TGA Technologies Inc., which will sell its Sparkgap products for the emerging two-way paging and government markets.
Aquis Communications Group Inc. announced David Sands has been elected chairman of the company’s board of directors, and Brian Bobeck has been elected a director. John Burtchaell Jr. will relinquish his seat as chairman.
Finally, paging device maker PerComm Inc. said it licensed the Palm operating system and will build Palm devices for ReFLEX, GSM and CDMA networks.
