Each year the Business Journal identifies 100 of the fastest growing privately held companies in the region. Fifty-six companies managed to make the list again this year while just 27 companies have made the list for three consecutive years.

Fast growing companies face many challenges when trying to increase market share, including hiring new employees, updating technology and upgrading facilities all while fulfilling product and service orders that may outpace even the highest expectations. Managing growth so that it is constant is tough and many companies tend to mushroom and then plateau.

As a result, many entrepreneurs who find success initially look to capitalize on their bright idea either by being acquired or by going public while the company is still growing. Several companies on the Business Journal’s list are no exception.

Three of the top 20 companies on last year’s list were acquired during the past 12 months: No. 14 Pricegrabber.com, No. 19 Soltre Technology Inc. and No. 20 DSL Extreme.

Pricegrabber.com was founded in 1999 as part of the Internet boom. The Web site provides a venue for online comparison shopping. It had revenues of $60 million in 2005, up $20 million or 50 percent compared with the year earlier period.

The company was purchased last December for an undisclosed amount by Experian, a subsidiary of the U.K.’s GUS plc. Its value was projected to increase by approximately 40 percent annually at the time of acquisition.

“Our goal was to grow the business,” said Kamran Pourzanjani, chief executive and co-founder, who considered taking the company public before receiving the offer. “We found somebody that could help us meet our objectives with funds and infrastructure in order to grow faster.”

Although the company was acquired, it continues to run as an independent enterprise, but with added resources and support from an international corporation with a global structure.

Soltre Technology Inc. was founded in 2000 by Vivian Chow. It became certified by Oracle for systems integration, applications management and outsourcing and hosting in 2001. The company was acquired last November by RCM Technologies Inc. when that company looked to solidify its portfolio of software product services.

DSL Extreme was acquired in March by Salt Lake City-based Ikano Communications. Winnetka-based DSL Extreme provided low-cost dial-up and high-speed Internet service. In less than seven years, it had built a nationwide network of clients. Ikano acquired the assets of DSL Extreme in order to boost its private label and wholesale Internet services.

While many business owners spend countless hours building their business, these companies found that acquisition was the best way to make the most out of their business.

“We did it the perfect way. When the time was right, we took an exit strategy that made sense,” Pourzanjani said.