INetU Acquisition Gives ViaWest Data Centers on East Coast, in Europe

US data center service provider ViaWest announced Monday that it has agreed to acquire INetU, a managed cloud hosting company with data centers on the US East Coast and in Europe – both new markets for Denver, Colorado-based ViaWest.

INetU hosts and manages cloud infrastructure for its customers, including private, public, and hybrid cloud environments, as well as cloud infrastructure provided by Amazon Web Services. The company also helps companies set up their cloud environments through its consultative design services.

ViaWest, whose customers include Overstock.com and Pearson Education, is a subsidiary of the Canadian cable company Shaw Communications, which acquired it last year for $1.2 billion.

ViaWest is buying INetU from the private equity firm BV Investment Partners and other shareholders for $162.5 million.

The deal will expand ViaWest’s cloud and managed services capabilities and add data centers in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, the UK, and Netherlands to its portfolio. The Shaw subsidiary currently has nearly 30 data centers in the US and Canada.

This is the latest in a series of acquisitions this year as the data center industry continues to consolidate. Other examples of recent deals include the acquisition of Net Access by Cologix in October, CyrusOne’s Cervalis deal, which also gave it instant East Coast presence, and the acquisition of Carpathia Hosting by QTS.

The biggest deals this year were Equinix’s $3.6 billion purchase of TelecityGroup in Europe and Digital Realty Trust’s Telx acquisition in the US for $1.9 billion.