Three of the Twin Cities' major IT companies are joining forces.

Avtex Solutions, LLC, announced Wednesday that it will acquire Apple Valley-based Convergent. The acquisition comes just two months after Bloomington-based Avtex announced plans to merge with Bloomington-based Inetium, LLC, a sister company under Pohlad Family Companies.

The companies will not disclose the financial terms of the transactions, but Inetium President and Founder Keith Rachey-who will assume the title of chief strategy officer following the merger-said that the combined company's revenue will total about $50 million, and it will have more than 600 clients. What's more: The combined company aims to grow “at least 50 percent,” both organically and through acquisitions, by the end of 2013, according to Rachey.

The company will operate under the Avtex name and under the leadership of CEO Dave Johnson. All employees at Avtex, Inetium, and Convergent will be retained. Avtex and Inetium both employ about 100, and Convergent employs about 20.

“It's a merger for growth, not a merger for cost takeout,” Rachey said in a Monday phone interview. “We're bringing together things that have historically been silos.”

Avtex is an application and systems integrator that's mostly focused on contact center solutions. Inetium, meanwhile, provides solutions surrounding the Microsoft platform. Rachey said that customers are looking for both-so joining forces seemed like a natural choice. However, the two companies also wanted to beef up their unified communications business, so they looked to Convergent because of its specialty in that arena.

“What we're helping our customers do is optimize customer interactions. That's really what brings it all together,” Rachey said. “Look at what we do combined. I don't think there's anybody else in the marketplace that can offer what we offer.”

Post-merger, Avtex's number one focus will be on making sure that it's marketing all of its offerings to all of its 600 clients, Rachey said. Next, the company will try to expand its presence in geographic areas that it sees as underserved-including Milwaukee and select other cities in the Midwest and Southeast. In doing so, Avtex will look to acquire companies within those areas that have intellectual property that could enhance its solution set.

Avtex's Bloomington office and Convergent will both move into Inetium's office in Bloomington over the next couple of months, and the merged company will also retain and make use of Convergent's showroom at Normandale Lakes Office Park in Bloomington. The companies will officially integrate on January 1. (It's tagline is “becoming one on 1-1-11.”)

Inetium provide services primarily in the Midwest, while Avtex and Convergent serve clients across the country. Avtex has additional offices in Appleton and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Cincinnati; and Des Moines, Iowa.