Location technology specialist TomTom (TOM2) today announced the sale of its Telematics business to Bridgestone Europe NV/SA (“Bridgestone”), a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation in EMEA, for a purchase price of €910 million, and proposes to return the majority of the proceeds to its shareholders.
This transaction 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.
“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,” commented Harold Goddijn, CEO, TomTom. “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.”
“We have found our perfect match in TomTom Telematics,” said Paolo Ferrari, CEO and President of Bridgestone EMEA and Executive Vice President of Bridgestone Group. “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 Telematics purchase price is €910 million, of which €750 million will be distributed to shareholders by means of a capital repayment, combined with a share consolidation. This capital repayment will not be subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including the relevant regulatory approvals, consultation with employee representative bodies and the approval of TomTom’s shareholders. In addition to this TomTom will request approval for the capital repayment to its shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders. The convocation details will be published shortly.
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.
Barclays acted as exclusive financial advisor and Allen & Overy LLP as legal advisor to TomTom. Lazard acted as independent advisor to the Supervisory Board.
TomTom will release its Q4 2018 and full year 2018 financial results on 6 February 2019.
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