TomTom Sells Telematics Business to Bridgestone for €910 Million

Jan 22, 2019

TomTom has today (22 January) announced the sale of its Telematics fleet management business for a purchase price of €910 million.

The company has secured a deal with tyre manufacturer Bridgestone, and proposes to return the majority of proceeds (€750 million) to its shareholders via a capital repayment and share consolidation.

TomTom Telematics business

TomTom will retain its core location technology business and hopes to continue to invest in mapmaking technology.

This move allows the Telematics business to accelerate its growth trajectory and TomTom to become a more focused and agile company, shaping the future of driving with highly accurate maps, navigation software and real-time traffic information and services.

telematics-tomtom-truck-driver-office

Speaking of the announcement, Harold Goddijn, CEO of TomTom, said: “After a thorough review of strategic options, we have determined that the sale of Telematics to Bridgestone is in the best interest of both Telematics and our core location technology business,”

“We will continue to invest in our innovative map-making system, enabling faster map updates while lowering operational costs, paving the road towards autonomous driving.”

Meanwhile, Paolo Ferrari, CEO and President of Bridgestone EMEA and Executive Vice President of Bridgestone Group, commented: “We have found our perfect match in TomTom Telematics,”

fleet-management

“Our companies’ complementary assets and capabilities will create a fleet solutions powerhouse, and further strengthen Bridgestone’s digital technology arm. We are now well-positioned in EMEA to enhance our core tyre business, accelerate our data-driven business, expand our fleet customer base and seize fast-growing, profitable opportunities in the automotive mobility industry. We recognize and respect the talent and skills of the TomTom Telematics’ management team and its 670 employees. It’s our intention to foster and grow the business and support its current plans.”

“TomTom Telematics is the number one Telematics Service Provider in Europe, and we continue to grow our installed base of vehicles we service globally,” added Thomas Schmidt, Managing Director, TomTom Telematics. “We look forward to accelerating our ambitious growth plan and seize new opportunities as part of Bridgestone. In the meantime, we expect the transition to be seamless with no disruption for our customers, suppliers and employees.”

The sale of the Telematics business is expected to close by the end of the second quarter of 2019, followed by the capital repayment combined with a share consolidation to be executed in the third quarter of 2019.