US telco Verizon is to acquire Dublin-based mobile workforce management solutions provider Fleetmatics in a deal worth €2.14 billion ($2.4 billion), as part of a strategic move to create a leading global company in the field.

Verizon Telematics acquired Californian cloud-based mobile enterprise management software company Telogis in July, and believes the combined three companies have the potential to dominate their market segment globally.

Verizon Telematics CEO Andrés Irlando said: "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.

"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 CEO Jim Travers (pictured) said: “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.”

In Association with

Fleetmatics’ North American headquarters is in Waltham, Massachusetts. The company’s web-based solutions provide fleet operators with visibility into vehicle location, fuel usage, speed and mileage, and other insights into their mobile workforce, helping them to reduce operating costs as well as increase revenue.

Fleetmatics has been operating since 2004 and provides mobile workforce solutions for service-based businesses of all sizes, delivered as what the company calls ‘software-as-a-service. (SaaS).

Fleetmatics says its solutions enable businesses to meet the challenges associated with managing local fleets, and improve the productivity of their mobile workforces, by extracting actionable business intelligence from real-time and historical vehicle and driver behavioural data.

Fleet operators gain visibility into vehicle location, fuel usage, speed and mileage, and other insights into their mobile workforce, enabling them to reduce operating and capital costs, as well as increase revenue.

Part of the offering is a GPS vehicle tracking system which, the company says, enables fleet owners to deploy their vehicles with live, real-time tracking and provides minute-by-minute route verification, enabling them to settle customer disputes, provide proof of service and ensure the fleet is not burning unnecessary fuel.

The management reports from the system enable business owners to verify time sheets accurately, leading to reduced overtime expenses. Fleet owners can compare hours worked by each vehicle thereby controlling productivity, and establish how much time vehicles are spending at locations such as supply houses, customer sites, or other locations.

Verizon Telematics, a subsidiary of Verizon Communications, operates in more than 40 markets worldwide and offers comprehensive wireless, software and hardware solutions to consumers, enterprises, automakers and dealers to power connected-vehicle products around the world.

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions, including the approval of Fleetmatics’ shareholders and the sanction by the High Court of the Irish scheme of arrangement by which Verizon will acquire Fleetmatics, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Fleetmatics at present serves approximately 37,000 customers and approximately 737,000 subscribed vehicles throughout Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States and Italy.

The company is listed on the New York stock exchange (NYSE: FLTX). The deal agreed with Verizon values the company at $60 or €53.57 per share.