Michelin announced on Thursday that it has acquired Masternaut, one of the largest European telematics providers. The exact amount Masternaut was acquired for has not been specified.
According to Michelin, the acquisition will speed up the development of its Services & Solutions business for light vehicles, enable Masternaut to roll out its offering across the whole of Europe by taking advantage of the Michelin network’s geographical coverage and increase the volume of data captured, allowing it to provide its customers with the best solutions, increase product performance and develop its data science deployments.
Michelin said that the transaction was made on the basis of 8 times 2018 EBITDA before synergies.
“Michelin is consolidating its expertise in telematics, enabling us to optimize customer mobility and respond to the needs of a changing market. Masternaut represents a further step in the expansion of our Services & Solutions business, especially in Europe ad for light vehicle fleets,” Florent Menegaux, Managing General Partner of Michelin, commented on the announcement.
Based in Clermont-Ferrand, Michelin is a French tyre manufacturer and second largest in the world following Bridgestone.
Masternaut mainly operates in France and the UK. The business provides a technical platform that boasts the latest technology and offers on-board telematics solutions to optimize vehicle fleet management and monitoring.
Masternaut currently manages more than 220,000 mostly light utility vehicles.
Last year, the tyre manufacturer announced that it was set to close its Dundee factory, which employs 845 people at the time and has been open since 1971. The group said that the plant will shut by mid-2020 as a result of a decline in the demand for the specific tyres it produces, and competition in Asia.
At 09:13 CEST Thursday, shares in Cie Gnrl des Etblsmnts Michelin SCA (EPA:ML) were trading at -1.25%.