Chicago-headquartered Fortune 500 company, Telephone and Data Systems Inc., has purchased BendBroadband and its two affiliated companies, BendBroadband Vault and Zolo Media for $261 million, according to a news release issued Thursday.

BendBroadband, a cable, telephone and Internet company located off Sherman Road in Bend, employs about 280 and generated annual revenues of $70 million in 2013, according to the new release.

Telephone and Data Systems is the parent company to TDS Telecom, the seventh-largest local exchange telephone company in the U.S.

The deal is expected to be finalized third quarter this year.

In the news release, Amy Tykeson, president and CEO of BendBroadband, said there will be no interruption of service and the company will remain a partner to Central Oregon communities.

“I am proud of the customer-centered company we have built over 30 years, and I believe TDS is the right fit for our culture and values and for out future,” Tykeson said in the news release.

For more details read Friday’s Bulletin.