Greenwood Village, CO April 19, 2002 Two companies in the e-government marketplace are joining forces. govONE Solutions, LP, a provider of government electronic payment services and operating company of eONE Global, has acquired Cincinnati, Ohio-based GovConnect Inc., which offers electronic service delivery, consulting and technology solutions to the government marketplace.
Under the terms of the agreement, govONE Solutions acquires all of the outstanding stock of GovConnect from Aquent LLC for $45 million in cash. GovConnect was a subsidiary of Renaissance Worldwide, which was acquired by Aquent in December 2001. Aquent is a professional services firm specializing in IT and creative staffing, consulting and outsourcing.
According to a statement released by the compnies, GovConnect has implemented technology solutions for state, federal and local government agencies in more than 40 states and several major municipalities across the United States. Additionally, the company provides professional services, technology system solutions and transaction processing to state and local government agencies, specifically in the areas of health and human services, labor and tax.
The statement also said that govONE Solutions has served more than two million taxpaying businesses and 22 state governments, processing 40 million payments for businesses and consumers valued at $1 trillion annually. The company's electronic payment system manages half of all electronic tax payments made to the U.S. Treasury.
James Fox, president and CEO of govONE Solutions, said he believes the combination of the companies will create a one-stop solution of electronic payment and related services for federal, state and local governments. We look forward to the opportunity to continue to be an advisor for governments as they transform to an electronic environment, in addition to providing processing services for payments made to and by governments," said Fox.
In the U.S., individual and corporate payments to state, local and municipal governments total about $1.95 trillion annually, according to the TowerGroup, with value of those payments made to the federal government at about $2.1 trillion per year.
With approximately 300 employees and 50 contractors, GovConnect will initially operate as a subsidiary of govONE Solutions. govONE Solutions is a subsidiary of emerging payments leader eONE Global, which is majority owned by First Data Corp. iFormation Group, a company whose founders are The Boston Consulting Group, General Atlantic Partners and The Goldman Sachs Group, is a minority investor in eONE Global.
For more information about e-business and the government, see the June/July cover story of iSource Business magazine.
