Bahrain’s Investcorp acquires Nordic telematics firm ABAX group for $210m

Bahrain’s Investcorp has announced the completion of its acquisition of Nordic telematics firm ABAX Group from Norvestor VI for $210m.

The acquisition is Investcorp’s fourth investment in the telematics sector globally and fourth in Scandinavia in the last 18 months.

ABAX specialises in the development and supply of vehicle tracking systems and technology, including fleet tracking, order management systems and vehicle control systems.

It is headquartered in Larvik, Norway and has around 350 employees across he Nordic region, Poland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and China, 200,00 active subscriptions and 25,500 customers.

Investcorp said it plans to support ABAX’s international growth organically and through acquisitions as the size of the telematics market continues to grow.

“ABAX’s market position and what we think are terrific growth prospects represent an attractive investment opportunity for Investcorp,” said Mohammed Al-Shroogi, co-CEO of Investcorp.

“As one of Europe’s fastest growing telematics companies, ABAX is well placed to further expand in the automotive industry.”

Investcorp’s previous acquisitions in the telematics space includes SageQuest and Fleetmatics, which were merged and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012 before being acquired by US telecoms group Verizon for $2.4bn.

The Bahrain-based firm has made three technology acquisitions in recent months including European small and medium enterprise marketplace Ageras in March.

Read: Bahrain’s Investcorp acquires majority stake in marketplace Ageras