[Sysadmin] EV1 and The Planet (ServerMatrix) Announce Merger

[David Kaufman]

Dunno if this is a good thing for our hosting situation or not, but...

Anyone particularly dislike EV1?  I've had mixed experiences with them 
myself, but I suppose it remains to be seen whether ServerMatrix as we 
know it will disappear and we'll wake up EV1 customers one day, or if 
the two will continue to operate separately...  or what.

I'm very curious to hear what the Sysadmin collective thinks, 
collectively:

  Bad News?
  Good News?
  No Biggie?
  Don't Know?
  Don't Care?

Thanks,

-dave


============================================================================
EV1 and The Planet Announce Merger
http://www.theplanet.com/newsroom/pr/20060508.html

Combination Creates Industry-leading Dedicated Hosting Company; Combined 
Company Will Continue to Deliver Industry-leading Client Experience

DALLAS, TX - Everyones Internet (EV1) and The Planet, two leading 
providers of dedicated hosting, announced today that they have merged.

Clients of both EV1 and The Planet will continue to enjoy the same 
industry-leading products and services they have come to expect. The 
combined entity will further develop both the EV1 and The Planet brands, 
supporting over 20,000 clients and 50,000 dedicated servers. This 
combination creates the largest dedicated hosting provider in the 
market, which has the scope, scale and financial strength to deliver 
superior service levels and innovative product offerings to existing and 
new clients.

The merger between EV1 and The Planet follows controlling investments 
recently made in each by GI Partners, a leading private equity firm with 
deep experience in technology infrastructure.

"The merger is exciting news for all stakeholders," said Robert Marsh, 
Headsurfer and founder of EV1. "It will be seamless from a client 
perspective and will result in a host of benefits for our clients."

"The opportunities created by this merger are extremely exciting, and we 
look forward to combining our resources for the benefit of our clients," 
commented Peter Pathos, founder of The Planet.

"We are very pleased to have this opportunity to invest in further 
building upon the strong foundations at EV1 and The Planet," said Howard 
Park, Managing Director of GI Partners. "Our aim is to provide the 
additional access to financial and other resources that will enable the 
combined company to continue growing profitably while further improving 
service levels, expanding product offerings, and enhancing the total 
client experience."

About EV1
EV1, based in Houston, Texas, provides dedicated internet technology 
services to small and mid-sized companies, including sole proprietors 
and technically sophisticated individuals. For more information, please 
visit www.ev1servers.net.

About GI Partners
With offices in Menlo Park and London, GI Partners is a leading private 
equity firm with $2 billion of capital under management. The firm 
invests in companies with recurring revenue and asset-intensive business 
models in North America and Western Europe. For more information, please 
visit http://www.gipartners.com.

About The Planet
With over 10 years experience, The Planet delivers enterprise level 
hosting solutions that are readily available, affordable, and scalable. 
The Planet offers dedicated servers, co-location, Internet access, email 
and business continuance. Customers receive extreme value through 
offerings such as advanced security, proactive monitoring, database 
administration, data storage, load balancing, and virtual private 
networks, all managed through OrbitSM, The Planet's customer portal. For 
additional information, visit www.theplanet.com.

Media Contacts
The Planet
Kristin Herring
214-782-7768
kherring at theplanet.com