AnswerNet Acquires MRC, IMI and Answer America
September 24, 2007
The AnswerNet Network, the world’s largest telemessaging firm and a provider of inbound, outbound and e-bound contact center services across the U.S. and Canada, has acquired three new companies, further swelling its services. These new additions are: MRCGroup of Las Vegas, a market research organization; Integrated Messaging Inc. (IMI), of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, a contact center solutions provider; and Answer America, of St. Paul, Minn., a nationwide answering service. The deals also include Innovative Survey Research, of Denver, a polling and survey firm which MRCGroup had acquired in 2005.
These purchases, which occurred rapidly over a 12 week period, give AnswerNet access to additional markets, enhanced market research capabilities and expanded inbound and outbound contact-handling capabilities. The acquired firms add 12 contact centers to AnswerNet’s network, enabling it to expand its capacity by 25%. AnswerNet has over 50 contact centers and more than 2,000 workstations across the U.S. and Canada.
MRCGroup, renamed AnswerNet-MRC, provides leading-edge market research services. These include consumer surveys, social sciences research and polling from contact centers in Las Vegas and in Denver, plus it hosts face-to-face focus groups and product testing at a state-of-the-art facility in Las Vegas.
IMI has expertise in DRTV, electronic payment processing, lottery management services and TTY. IMI also expands AnswerNet’s ability to serve the Canadian market by providing a second contact center in the country. It supplements AnswerNet-owned TelePartners of Toronto, Ontario.
Answer America supplies telephone answering, inbound telemarketing, voicemail, mail receiving and forwarding, contact center, and fax services. Answer America has contact centers in Burbank, Modesto, and Stockton, Calif.; Fort Worth, Texas; Las Vegas; Portland, Ore.; St. Paul, Minn.; and Sarasota, Fla.
“AnswerNet-MRC, IMI, and Answer America provides us with unique and enhanced services that will benefit our customers, along with new capacity and highly capable management and staff,” said Gary A. Pudles, president and CEO of the AnswerNet Network. “Their clientele now have access to our full range of integrated telemessaging, contact center and fulfillment solutions in a convenient one-stop-shopping environment.”
About The AnswerNet Network:
As the world’s largest telemessaging firm, the AnswerNet Network (www.answernet.com) provides inbound, outbound and e-bound contact center and fulfillment solutions. AnswerNet operates over 50 contact centers within the U.S. and Canada, providing a vast range of systems to optimize order entry, telephone answering services, sales, lead qualifications and other contact management solutions for a client base of over 35,000. Processing over 50 million contracts annually, AnswerNet has been recognized for a number of awards, including Inc. Magazine Annual “Inc. 500” List of Fastest Growing Private Companies and Customer Inter@ction Solutions Magazine’s Top 50 Teleservices Firms.
