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Breaking News: Omnitracs acquiring SmartDrive

Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves

Fleet technology provider Omnitracs is acquiring SmartDrive, a company known primarily for video technology in trucks but that has attempted to push into other telematics-based applications in recent years. 

The price of the purchase was not disclosed.

“SmartDrive’s proven video-based safety program integrated with Omnitracs’ best-in-class driver workflow and complemented by the companies’ unmatched years of collective transportation intelligence present an opportunity to streamline and enhance DX (driver experience),” Omnitracs said in announcing the acquisition. “The combined company will deliver the most complete and intelligent DX with the right in-cab and back-office decision-making, alerting and driver coaching – a virtual co-pilot that will lead to significant safety, fuel efficiency, operational and financial gains for fleets.”

In the statement announcing the acquisition, Omnitracs brought in a comment from Chad England, CEO of truckload carrier C.R. England. “We’ve had great partnerships with both Omnitracs and SmartDrive over the years,” England was quoted as saying. “We are excited to see these two companies come together. We are confident that the integration of offerings will create efficiencies for C.R. England.” 


The deal is expected to close in the third or fourth quarter.

FreightWaves will continue to cover this story throughout the day.

  

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John Kingston

John has an almost 40-year career covering commodities, most of the time at S&P Global Platts. He created the Dated Brent benchmark, now the world’s most important crude oil marker. He was Director of Oil, Director of News, the editor in chief of Platts Oilgram News and the “talking head” for Platts on numerous media outlets, including CNBC, Fox Business and Canada’s BNN. He covered metals before joining Platts and then spent a year running Platts’ metals business as well. He was awarded the International Association of Energy Economics Award for Excellence in Written Journalism in 2015. In 2010, he won two Corporate Achievement Awards from McGraw-Hill, an extremely rare accomplishment, one for steering coverage of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster and the other for the launch of a public affairs television show, Platts Energy Week.