Verizon said Monday that it plans to pay about $2.4 billion to buy Fleetmatics, which makes software used by cable companies, energy providers and others to manage their fleets of vehicles.
Verizon will pay $60 for each share of Fleetmatics, a nearly 40 percent premium of the stock’s closing price of $42.96 Friday.
The company will operate as Verizon Fleetmatics.
“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.
“The powerful combination of products and services, software platforms, robust customer bases, domain expertise and experience, and talented and passionate teams among Fleetmatics, the recently-acquired Telogis, and Verizon Telematics will position the combined companies to become a leading provider of fleet and mobile workforce management solutions globally,”
Fleetmatics, based in Dublin, Ireland, said it has more than 37,000 customers that use its software to track the location of vehicles driven by workers. Verizon, which provides cellphone and internet service, said the deal will boost its workforce management business.
“Verizon and Fleetmatics share a vision that the SaaS-based fleet management solution market is extraordinarily large, lightly penetrated, global and fragmented which can best be attacked together with a world class product offering and the largest distribution channel in the industry,” Jim Travers, chairman and CEO of Fleetmatics, said in a statement.
“Fleetmatics brings over 37,000 customers, approximately 737,000 subscribers, a broad portfolio of industry leading products, and a team of 1,200 professionals focused on solving the critical challenges of businesses that deploy mobile workforces. We are excited to partner with Verizon in fulfilling the mission of becoming the largest mobile workforce management company in the world.”
The new deal comes a week after New York-based Verizon said it would pay $4.8 billion to buy Yahoo Inc.’s websites , apps and other properties.
Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. slipped 77 cents to $54.64 in midday trading Monday, while Fleetmatics Group PLC jumped $16.85, or 38.7 percent, to $59.61.
