Some of the high-profile companies founded in Omaha and later moved, taken public or purchased:
InfoGroup
Founded: As Business Research Service, later American Business Information Inc., by Vinod Gupta.
When: 1972 (40 employees by 1982)
Later: In 1991, the company announced plans to sell common stock, with an initial public offering of 3 million shares on the NASDAQ exchange. In the late 1990s, Gupta changed its name to InfoUSA during a period when he expanded the company by numerous acquisitions, including Opinion Research, which polls for CNN, and SalesGenie.
Today: Now named InfoGroup, it still is publicly traded. InfoGroup employs about 1,500 people in the Omaha area.
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First Data
Founded: As First Data Resources — which purchased all the assets of Mid-American Bancard Association, a MasterCharge bank credit card processing company — by a group of businesspeople including original founders Bill Esping and Jack Weekly.
When: 1971 with 110 employees
Later: In 2007 First Data was acquired by an affiliate of Kolberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) for $29 billion.
Today: Still owned by KKR, First Data employs about 5,000 people in Omaha. Most of them work at the company's campus at 72nd and Pacific Streets.
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West Corp.
Founded: As West Telemarketing Corp., by Mary West and Craig Gavin, former employees of WATS Marketing of America, which Mary and Gary West founded in 1978 and sold to First Data Resources in 1980.
When: 1986 with about 50 employees
Later: In 1996, West Corp. sold common stock in an IPO and became publicly traded. The company, which the Wests tried unsuccessfully to buy back in 1998, began a series of acquisitions. It eventually diversified into debt collection and audio, video and Internet conferencing. A private investment group based in New York City purchased West Corp. in 2005.
Today: Announced plans this month to again sell common stock totaling as much as $500 million, reportedly to repay debt. West employs about 3,000 people in Omaha.
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DTN
Founded: As Data Transmission Network, an agriculture information service, by Roger Brodersen as a spinoff of Scoular Grain Co. of Omaha, of which he was chief operating officer.
When: 1984 with about 20 employees
Later: Was publicly traded, eventually renamed DTN Corp., and was put up for sale in the late 1990s in order to increase shareholder value. Purchased by a New York private investment firm in 2000.
Today: Purchased last year by Telvent, a worldwide information technology company headquartered in Madrid, Spain, for $445 million. DTN employs about 400 people in Omaha.
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Level 3
Founded: As Kiewit Diversified Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Peter Kiewit Sons' Inc., which was an investment-capital firm with holdings in multiple businesses and industries.
When: 1997 with 30 to 40 employees
Later: Renamed Level 3 Communications in 1998, the company divested assets unrelated to high-tech communications to focus on building a nationwide fiber optic network. It relocated to the Denver area, taking the former Kiewit managers and executives with it.
Today: Remains headquartered in a Denver suburb and is publicly traded. Level 3 employs about 5,300 people worldwide but none in Omaha.
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TD Ameritrade
Founded: The Rahel, Knack & Co. investment company was purchased by Joe Rickets and renamed First Omaha Securities and later TransTerra Co., a discount securities brokerage and provider of services to the financial industry.
When: 1975 with a handful of employees.
Later: Began offering touch-tone telephone trading in 1988 and online trading in 1995. In 1996 it became AmeriTrade Holding Corp. and sold its first publicly traded stock in 1997. Toronto Dominion Bank of Canada bought a majority interest in 2006 and renamed the company TD Ameritrade.
Today: Remains headquartered here and publicly traded. It employs about 2,000 people in Omaha.
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