BREGAL MILESTONE, a leading European software growth private equity firm, has acquired Irish travel technology company, uTrack Software Solutions.
Founded in 2011 by Eamonn Hughes and Conor Gildea, the Dublin-based company provides software for public transport companies to improve their business and services.
Counting Bus Éireann and National Express among its clients, uTrack's software services support nearly 3bn passengers and more than 150,000 drivers around the world annually.
The acquisition follows on from Brengal Milestone's majority strategic growth investment last month in Ridango, a global provider of mission-critical public transportation software.
'Strategic leap forward'
"We identified uTrack as a compelling strategic fit for Ridango given their software platform, loyal and recurring customer base of market-leading institutions, and complementary geographic presence, which made it a natural fit for the Ridango ecosystem," said Cyrus Shey, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Bregal Milestone.
"We're excited to support this combination as it unlocks meaningful synergies and accelerates growth across both platforms."
uTrack, which also operates a Birmingham office, boasts some of the largest urban bus, intercity coach and school transport providers in Ireland, Britain and North America among its clients.
The company's products — Origin, Unity and Rygo – enable operational excellence across a public transport business and mobile tools for a predominantly remote frontline workforce.
The acquisition of uTrack will aim to strengthen Ridango's offerings by increasing capabilities for long-distance and school transport operators, expanding its presence in Western Europe and the US.
The combined expertise of Ridango and uTrack will help further accelerate innovation with real-time connectivity, data-driven insights and route optimisation.
"The acquisition of uTrack represents a strategic leap forward for Ridango," said Erki Lipre, Founder and CEO.
"By combining our strengths and complementary services, we will deepen Ridango's AVL [Automatic Vehicle Location] and analytics capabilities and significantly strengthen our position in key global markets.
"We are truly excited to welcome Eamonn, Conor, and the entire uTrack team to the Ridango family."
'Exciting milestone'
A statement from the uTrack founders said the deal will help the company continue to provide innovative, sustainable solutions for transport providers and passengers.
"Joining forces with Ridango is an exciting milestone for uTrack," said Hughes and Gildea.
"From day one, our mission has been to enhance the passenger and operator experience through technology.
"Partnering with Ridango allows us to accelerate that mission and scale our impact across Europe and North America while continuing to innovate with a shared vision for smarter, more sustainable transit."
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