Yorktel Corporation, the third-largest video conferencing service provider in North America, today announced its acquisition of First Connections, Ltd, based in the United Kingdom. Yorktel is one of the largest and most successful visual communications integrators, with approximately 350 employees worldwide and more than $100 million in annual revenue.
Yorktel established its EMEA presence in Windsor, England in 2006 and expanded operations in June 2011. The acquisition of First Connections enhances the ability to meet the communications needs of its growing portfolio of global customers in EMEA, including integrating best-in-class video hardware and software, networking technologies and managed video services to provide the most complete, flexible, and cost-effective solutions for ‘any to any’ visual communications.
First Connections is headquartered in Basingstoke, UK with eight locations in the UK and Ireland, and brings 15 years of experience in audio/visual solutions, private video networking, video streaming, and integration. Its high regard within the industry is evidenced by its receipt of the Cisco 2011 TelePresence Partner of the Year award for EMEA. First Connections is also a Cisco Advanced Technology Partner and a Polycom Platinum Reseller.
The similar expertise in video conferencing integration and aligned offerings of Yorktel and First Connections make this union an ideal and natural next step in the ongoing growth of our company, said Ron Gaboury, Chief Executive Officer, Yorktel. “We are excited to join forces with First Connections’ top-notch staff and to share our focus at Yorktel on ‘making video work.'”
Reporting to David Phillips, Yorktel’s President & COO, David Berger, will run the combined European operations as Managing Director, EMEA and sees the acquisition as an opportunity to rapidly grow and position Yorktel as a major force in the European Video Conferencing Market. This acquisition will make Yorktel’s service offerings more visible and available to organizations with remote communication needs.
Keith Gyford, Founder of First Connections will become Chief Operating Officer for Yorktel EMEA, and added, “Our team is greatly looking forward to helping drive the exciting new ventures that Yorktel is undertaking, EMEA customers will benefit from the synergies by global leaps and bounds.”
Yorktel worked with Whitehawk Advisory, LLC to execute the acquisition. The newly expanded corporation will continue to operate globally as Yorktel and will remain headquartered in Eatontown, New Jersey, with field offices in Boston, Washington, D.C., Syracuse, Buffalo and Virginia and EMEA offices based in Windsor and Basingstoke, England.