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Best Buy (BBY) looking to buy Covad Communications?

Best Buy, Inc. (NYSE: BBY), the largest consumer electronics retail chain in the U.S., may be eyeing another service provider acquisition to follow up on the Speakeasy purchase earlier this year. Speakeasy was a provider of IT services to small businesses, and Covad Communications (AMEX: DVW) is a larger broadband internet service provider. Is Best Buy really staking an offensive in the business world with one completed and one rumored acquisition? You bet.

Best Buy for Business is a division of the retail giant that wants to be the products and service provider for small and medium businesses as the chain branches away from strictly consumer retail to broaden its portfolio and diversify revenues from the vagaries of retail that can change like the wind.

According to Broadband Reports, talks of an acquisition have been on-again, off-again for a while and may not be an acquisition of Covad in its entirety, but perhaps its VoIP business only. This would make sense, as Best Buy has recently stepped up its VoIP business in order to bring more competition to the telecom world. At this time, Covad is valued at about $194 million based on its current stock price of $0.65 per share on the American stock exchange.

Best Buy buys Speakeasy IT provider

Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) will be purchasing Speakeasy Inc., which provides a host of broadband Internet services in the voice, data and IT services field. The acquisition will cost Best Buy about $97 million and is expected to allow Best Buy to take a stronger lead in the small business arena where it continues to make larger dents.

Best Buy for Business is the unit the retailer uses to focus in on the small business market's increasing need for smaller (but lucrative) IT services. These are the businesses without the resources for a full-time IT staff but who constantly rely on computer and IT services. What business -- large or small -- isn't constantly relying on some kind of IT expertise to gain that competitive advantage? Probably none.

Speakeasy will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Best Buy and of course will have its services integrated into Best Buy for Business's services portfolio. At this time, Speakeasy has about 300 employees and more than 40,000 customers. The retailer also said that the whole Speakeasy executive team will stay with the company post-acquisition.

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S&P 500-19.141,091.49

Last updated: November 28, 2009: 05:21 AM

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