A Galway company that tracks truckers has been snapped up by a Nasdaq-listed firm
Blue Tree Systems has been sold to Orbcomm.
A GALWAY-BASED vehicle tracking company has been snapped up by a US tech firm listed on the Nasdaq.
Orbcomm announced today that it has acquired Blue Tree Systems, which is headquartered in Galway and has operations across the US. No financial details of the deal were disclosed.
Blue Tree makes several products that provide tracking and diagnostics services for fleets of trucks, while Orbcomm is a specialist in the so-called ‘internet of things’ industry – which involves ordinary devices being linked online.
It employs almost 600 people around the world, is listed on the Nasdaq market and has annual sales of about $200 million (€170 million).
Blue Tree designs both hardware and software to help firms manage their vehicles. For example, one of its products monitors a driver’s ability to manage their truck in a way that reduces fuel consumption and prevents wear and tear.
Scale
Charlie Cahill, Blue Tree’s founder and chief executive, said that Orbcomm is one of the leading ‘internet of things’ companies in the world.
“We believe the increased scale, resources, customer base and geographic profile that Orbcomm offers will support our rapid growth globally,” he said.
The company, which was established in 1994, made a loss of just under €1 million during 2015, the most recent year for which its accounts are available. This compared to a relatively small loss of €70,000 the year before.
It had liabilities of €5.7 million and assets of €6.4 million. The serves more than 300 customers in North America, the EU, Australia and New Zealand.
Blue Tree employed 44 people in 2015, up from 41 the year before. Staff costs were €3.5 million during the year, or about €80,000 per employee.
