Descartes Acquires PinPoint GPS Solutions

Descartes Systems Group has acquired PinPoint GPS Solutions Inc., a provider of fleet-tracking and mobile workforce management services based in Mississauga, Ontario, for cash and stock valued at C$15 million.

PinPoint collects location information on trucks and mobile workers using telematics and trailer-tracking devices to help commercial fleet operators manage driver performance and comply with government regulations.

“Gathering real-time information about the location of vehicles continues to be a critical factor for our customers in making strategic decisions about how to deploy their assets,” Descartes CEO Edward Ryan said in a statement Aug. 22. “By combining forces with PinPoint, we add scale and domain expertise to our solutions, and strengthen our relationships with key partners such as Geotab and Skybitz.”

Vince Arone, a co-founder and general manager of PinPoint, will become vice president of mobile telematics solutions at Descartes.

“We see a great opportunity to meet the growing needs of our customers by combining our team and expertise with Descartes’ wider routing, mobile and telematics business,” Arone said in announcing the sale.

Arone started PinPoint with Bob Farrell and Brian Barry in 2006. Farrell was a telecommunications executive with Nortel Networks, Hyperchip and Arkipelago Inc. and served as vice president of sales and operations at PinPoint. Barry was chairman of PinPoint until 2013 and now is CEO of Wyzelink Systems, a data-networking business also based in Mississauga.

Decartes said the purchase of PinPoint includes an earn-out bonus of C$3 million based on meeting revenue targets in each of the first two years after the acquisition.

Descartes is based in Waterloo, Ontario.