ACR Grows Business Through Acquisition

Through the acquisition, scheduled to close April 1, ACR will add Shea's seven employees and $5 million in annual revenue to its fold. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In the past, the two firms have engaged in "friendly competition," with Shea sometimes tapping ACR to fill out its services roster, making the acquisition a natural fit, said Pat Grillo, president and CEO of ACR, Branchburg, N.J.

ACR will pull in $10 million in sales for its current fiscal year, ending this month, and had 21 employees prior to the acquisition.

Shea's personnel and customer roster make it an attractive addition to ACR, which hopes to create new services opportunities within Shea's existing accounts, Grillo said.

"If we can get our guys busy in their accounts, it will be good for both of us," Grillo said.

Next year the company hopes to boost its revenue to $20 million, he said.

A Cisco Premier partner, ACR provides networking, IP telephony, security and server-based computing solutions. Other vendor partners include Citrix Systems, EADS Telecom North America, NetScreen, Packeteer and RSA Security.

ACR is also a member of 1NService, a nationwide network of integrators.

Shea, Parsippany, N,J., is a Cisco Premier partner that focuses on networking and IP telephony.