Qualcomm Sells Trucking Tech Segment for $800 Million

Wireless technology firm Qualcomm Inc. said it has sold its transportation and logistics business, Omnitracs, to Vista Equity Partners for $800 million.

The acquisition will include all Omnitracs operations in the United States, Canada and Latin America as well as the companies it purchased in 2011, Sylectus and FleetRisk Advisors, according to the company.

“The opportunity for fleet management and telematics is evolving rapidly, and we believe Omnitracs is well positioned to continue its leadership position as a stand-alone entity,” Qualcomm Executive Vice President Derek Aberle said.

Qualcomm said it expects the acquisition to be completed during the first quarter of its 2014 fiscal year.

Omnitracs is part of Qualcomm’s Wireless & Internet segment, or QWI. The segment posted a fiscal third-quarter loss of $16 million before tax, compared with a loss of $6 million in the same quarter last year. QWI revenue slipped 1% to $158 million.