Verizon Communications is set to acquire Fleetmatics, a provider of fleet and mobile workforce management solutions, for $2.4 billion.
Last week, Verizon announced the acquisition of website assets from Yahoo for $5.3 billion to strengthen its digital media presence.
In addition, Verizon Telematics last week closed the acquisition of Telogis, a cloud-based mobile enterprise management software company based in Aliso Viejo, Calif. Verizon did not disclose the investment details for buying Telogis.
Fleetmatics has over 37,000 customers, approximately 737,000 subscribers, and 1,200 professionals assisting businesses for deploying mobile workforce management solutions.
Fleetmatics is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with North American headquarters in Waltham, Mass. The technology 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.
Verizon Telematics operates in more than 40 markets worldwide and offers wireless, software and hardware solutions to consumers, enterprises, automakers and dealers to power connected-vehicle products around the world. Fleetmatics offers SaaS-based products and solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses.
Andres Irlando, CEO of Verizon Telematics, said: “The 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.”
Verizon to boost IoT revenue
Berg Insight last year predicted the number of cellular M2M subscribers will reach 1 billion by 2022.
The global number of cellular M2M subscribers increased 23 percent to reach 265.2 million in 2015. East Asia had 90.4 million M2M subscribers, while Western Europe had 59 million and North America had 52.5 million M2M connections.
Over the next five years, the installed base of cellular M2M devices is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.9 percent.
Tobias Ryberg, senior analyst at Berg Insight, said Verizon Wireless and Vodafone reported quarterly M2M/IoT revenues in the range of € 150–200 million each in the first half of 2015 and could be on track to reach € 1 billion on an annual basis within a few years’ time.
