Telular Enters Agreement to Acquire Reltima and GPS North America
Acquisition Sets Trajectory for Telular's Next Phase of Growth
CHICAGO –Â Telular Corporation, a global leader in using wireless networks for remote monitoring and tracking and a portfolio company of Avista Capital Partners, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Reltima and GPS North America, two leading commercial telematics companies in the local fleet management market. Reltima, headquartered in Woburn, MA, provides comprehensive and cost effective solutions for GPS fleet tracking and fleet performance optimization aimed at light duty vehicle fleets. GPS North America, located in Langhorne, PA, is Reltima's largest distribution partner. Upon closing, both companies will become part of Telular's SkyBitz division, the leader in remote asset tracking and information management solutions.
"By bringing Reltima and GPS North America together under our SkyBitz business, we will be able to rapidly expand our footprint in the growing commercial telematics market," said Doug Milner, CEO of Telular Corporation. "The acquisition of these two successful organizations is a natural extension of the overall Telular mission to deliver innovative telematics solutions that enable our customers to dramatically lower their cost of operations and improve productivity."
"We are excited about building on SkyBitz's strong existing momentum by broadening our telematics product set," said Brendan Scollans, Partner of Avista Capital Partners. "Telular has a strong position in three rapidly growing machine-to-machine markets and a compelling recurring revenue business model. Avista looks forward to continuing to support Telular by driving both organic growth and additional acquisitions."
Reltima offers a wide variety of GPS fleet management tools for sale through its Master Dealer network located throughout North America. Its flagship Smart Antenna product is a highly accurate, in-cab GPS fleet tracking device. When paired with Reltima's Perigee customer portal, Smart Antenna provides a wide variety of location based services, driver/vehicle performance data, route management and cargo status tracking to allow fleet managers to optimize their fleet performance and significantly reduce fleet operating costs.
"The combination of Reltima and our largest distribution partner, GPS North America, with SkyBitz represents an excellent strategic fit, bringing together the complementary strengths of our rich portfolios and robust go-to-market channels," said Andrew Petrov, CEO of Reltima. "This new relationship will give our dealers the power to leverage the strong and well-respected SkyBitz brand name against the larger competitors we face in the market today."
GPS North America offers a full complement of fleet management solutions including asset tracking, hours-of-service (HOS) compliance, vehicle/driver dispatch and fleet reporting all under the SignalTrack brand.
"We are excited to join the SkyBitz family, a company that shares our dedication to making sure our valued customers always have access to the best technology for tracking and monitoring their fleets," said Todd Lewis, President of GPS North America. "Becoming a part of SkyBitz will enable us to take our services to the next level, while maintaining the personal touch our customers have come to expect."
Subject to the completion of customary conditions, the acquisition is expected to close on or around July 8, 2015. Reltima and GPS North America were advised by Media Venture Partners (MVP), an investment banking firm serving companies in the communications, technology and media sectors. Avista Capital Partners and Telular were advised by Kirkland Ellis LLP.
About Telular
Telular Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avista Capital Partners, and provider of remote monitoring and asset tracking solutions for business and residential customers, enables security systems and industrial applications to exchange actionable information wirelessly, through cellular and satellite technology. With over 25 years of experience in the wireless industry, Telular Corporation has developed solutions to deliver remote access for voice and data without significant network investment. Headquartered in Chicago, Telular Corporation has additional offices in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.telular.com.
About Avista Capital Partners
Avista Capital Partners is a leading private equity firm with approximately $6 billion under management and offices in New York, Houston and London. Founded in 2005, Avista makes controlling or influential minority investments in growth-oriented energy, healthcare and communications media businesses. Through its team of seasoned investment professionals and industry experts, Avista seeks to partner with exceptional management teams to invest in and add value to well-positioned businesses.
About SkyBitz, Inc.
SkyBitz, a wholly owned subsidiary of Telular Corporation, is a leader in global remote asset management solutions, and in providing real-time information on the location and status of assets. More than 800 enterprises rely on SkyBitz technology to achieve total asset visibility, improved security, lower operating and capital expenses, and enhanced customer service. SkyBitz delivers its solution via SkyBitz InSight, a secure web-based application that is fully customizable and requires no software downloads. For additional information, visit www.skybitz.com.
Media contact:
Pamela Benke
Telular
678-909-4616
pbenke@telular.com
SOURCE Telular Corporation
Web Site: http://www.telular.com
