Verizon to Buy Fleetmatics for $2.4 Billion
Verizon Communications Inc. said Monday that it agreed to acquire mobile workforce-solutions company Fleetmatics Group PLC for $2.4 billion, widening Verizon’s fleet operations as it looks to diversify.
The deal, at $60 a share in cash, represents a nearly 40% premium to Fleetmatics closing price Friday of $42.96.
Fleetmatics’ web-based GPS tracking systems allow fleet operators to monitor vehicle location, fuel usage, speed and mileage, and other insights into their mobile workforce.
Investors were attracted to the company because its cloud-computing model made adoption easy for small-to midsize business without other infrastructure or sophisticated users.
The Dublin-based company has roughly 737,000 subscribers and 1,200 employees. Its North American headquarters are in Waltham, Mass.
Last week, Verizon closed its acquisition of mobile enterprise management software company Telogis Inc.
That transaction, as well as the Fleetmatics deal, came amid Verizon’s bidding for Yahoo Inc., which it last week agreed to buy for $4.8 billion.
For New York-based Verizon, the Yahoo deal represents a bet that the troubled web company will give it a leg up as it tries to build a digital media and advertising empire. Meanwhile, the Fleetmatics deal reflects its strategy of connecting objects to the internet wirelessly. Both come as Verizon, the nation’s largest U.S. wireless carrier, is diversifying away from being a telephone and internet provider.
