US I.D. Systems to buy Israel’s Pointer Telelocation for $140 million

Publicly traded Pointer’s software tracks vehicles for fleet management, insurance purposes and stolen vehicle recovery

Shoshanna Solomon was The Times of Israel's Startups and Business reporter

Israel's Pointer Telelocation has developed cloud-based software that helps track vehicles (YouTube screenshot)
Israel's Pointer Telelocation has developed cloud-based software that helps track vehicles (YouTube screenshot)

US based I.D. Systems, Inc. a developer of enterprise asset management and industrial internet of things (IoT) technologies will buy Israel’s Pointer Telocation Ltd., a maker of telematics and mobile IoT solutions, for cash and stock in a deal valued at some $140 million.

Headquartered in Rosh Ha’ayin, Pointer Telelocation is a publicly traded company whose cloud-based software tracks vehicles at all times, for fleet management, insurance purposes and stolen vehicle recovery. It also provides a roadside assistance service to motorists, via its Shagrir subsidiary. The firm has more than 275,000 monthly subscribers.

Headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, I.D. Systems makes machine to machine solutions to control, track and manage a variety of business assets such as cars, rental cars, trailers, containers and cargo.

Pointer’s shares are traded on the Nasdaq and on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, while those of I.D. Systems are traded on the Nasdaq.

The combined company will be dual-listed on the Nasdaq and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under a rebranded name of PowerFleet, the firms said in a statement.

The combination of the companies will allow operational synergies, the statement said, with cost savings of some $3.5 million expected within the first 12-18 months following the close of the acquisition, expected for this summer.

I.D. Systems CEO Chris Wolfe, and chief financial officer Ned Mavrommatis will lead the combined company, the statement said. Pointer CEO David Mahlab will serve as CEO international and as a member of the PowerFleet board of directors. Pointer CFO Yaniv Dorani will be a deputy to Mahlab.

“This is a transformative acquisition for I.D. Systems and our industry, as it combines our market and product leadership in North America with Pointer’s technology leadership, supply chain acumen and broad international footprint,” said Wolfe in the statement.

The acquisition and merger into one new company will create a “leading global IoT telematics software and solutions company,” the statement said, with more than 600,000 expected subscribers by the end of 2019, the statement said.

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