Verizon is bolstering its profile in the fleet tracking business, buying Fleetmatics Group for $2.4 billion.

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

August 1, 2016

1 Min Read
Verizon Buys Big Into IoT With $2.4B Fleetmatics Deal

Verizon is bolstering its profile in the fleet tracking business, buying Fleetmatics Group plc for $2.4 billion in an all-cash deal.

The deal -- at $60 per share -- is a nearly 40% premium over Fleetmatics' closing share price of $42.96 Friday. Dublin, Ireland-based Fleetmatics was founded in 2004 and has 1,200 employees, over 37,000 customers and approximately 737,000 subscribers. The company develops GPS location-based employee status, fuel and billing desktop and mobile software.

"Fleetmatics is a market leader in North America -- and increasingly internationally -- and they've developed a wide-range of compelling SaaS-based products and solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses," said Andrés Irlando, CEO of Verizon Telematics, of the deal.

Want to know more about IoT? Visit the Light Reading IoT section.

Although the connected car has caught the hype wave, Verizon has long been in the fleet management game. Verizon formed the Telematics unit in 2006 and grew it through the acquisition of Hughes Telematics in 2012. (See US Giants Carve Out Role in the Industrial IoT .)

Verizon says that it has also closed its acquisition of Telogis, which should further bolster its connected car business.

The Fleetmatics acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2016.

— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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