NTT Acquires Verio

September 1, 2000

U.S. based Verio has been acquired by Japanese based NTT Communications for the price of $5.5 billion. After much effort, NTT Communications has become the majority stockholder in a U.S. based communications company and will be able to use this acquisition to expand its presence in the U.S. Internet scene.

This acquisition was not without its hurdles, as the FBI investigated the acquisition in order to ensure that NTT would not be allowed to tap the Internet lines and transmit information gained to the Japanese government. This was the first time that such an investigation was conducted, but it certainly won’t be the last time with the ever growing global connections of the Internet and communications.