Bridgestone Americas and Sumeru Equity Partners, Danlaw, along with other shareholders have reached an agreement for Bridgestone to purchase Azuga Holdings, Inc. (Azuga) and the Azuga fleet management platform for $391 million.
This purchase will speed up Bridgestone’s efforts to develop and deploy sustainable mobility solutions as part of the company’s advanced mobility strategy, Bridgestone officials said in a press release. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter after being approved by each company’s board of directors.
Bridgestone will assume ownership of Azuga’s brands and business platforms, pending customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
The acquisition will also advance Bridgestone’s solutions for small to enterprise-sized fleets. It will provide real-time vehicle operations insights and data analytics that will improve safety, increase efficiency, and enhance customer service experiences.
“Azuga is revolutionizing the way that fleets do business in the U.S. with class-leading software and a rapid innovation process that will further advance Bridgestone’s vision to be a sustainable solutions company,” said Paolo Ferrari, global chief solutions business officer of Bridgestone Corp. and president and CEO of Bridgestone Americas. “We are working toward providing the most sustainable and intelligent solutions for safer and more efficient mobility, and Azuga will help us accelerate their development and deployment to our customers.”
Azuga is a technology company that was founded in 2012. It has developed a fleet management platform with GPS tracking, video telematics, driver behavior management and accident reduction solutions for insurers with more than 6,000 fleet business customers in North America.
“Bridgestone’s focus on building a more sustainable future through mobility technologies is well aligned with the mission of Azuga,” said Ananth Rani, CEO of Azuga Holdings. “Together, our teams will continue the momentum we’ve already created, and accelerate our path toward providing the most advanced mobility solutions for our customers and society.”
The acquisition of Azuga continues Bridgestone’s transition to becoming a sustainable solutions company. It also builds upon Bridgestone’s recently announced investment in autonomous long-haul trucking company Kodiak Robotics.
“Since our initial investment in 2018, Azuga has scaled rapidly to become a leader in the fleet management and mobility solutions market,” said Mark Haller, principal at Sumeru Equity Partners. “It has been a privilege to partner with the Azuga team over the last three years, and we look forward to watching Bridgestone and Azuga thrive together in the future.”
