Berkshire Partners nears deal to acquire Masergy

[NEW YORK] Berkshire Partners LLC is nearing a deal to acquire cloud networking firm Masergy, currently owned by another private equity firm, Abry Partners, for more than US$900 million, including debt according to sources familiar with the matter.

A deal could be announced as soon as this week, the people said on Sunday, asking not to be named because the matter is private.

Berkshire Partners declined to comment. Masergy and Abry could not immediately be reached for comment.

Masergy, based in Plano, Texas, helps speed up its customers' networks with software so they can roll out video, data and voice globally.

The company, which competes with Verizon, AT&T, British Telecom and Tata Communications, helps big corporations manage the transmission of phone calls using the same technology as internet communications.

Masergy assists customers such as Amgen Inc, E-Trade, Tesla and Dolby piece together their cloud communications and security services from different providers, according to its website.

It was acquired by Abry in 2011 for an undisclosed sum.

REUTERS