Telematics Firm Fleet Complete Gets Investment From Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Fleet Complete, a Toronto-based provider of vehicle telematics and driver management software with operations in North America, Europe and Australia, has received an investment from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
Ontario Teachers’ will acquire an unspecified amount of equity in the company from Madison Dearborn Partners and other investors, according to a statement released Nov. 26. Madison Dearborn Partners, a Chicago-based investment firm that has owned a stake in Fleet Complete since 2014, will continue as a smaller stockholder in the company.
Lourakis
“Ontario Teachers’ provides Fleet Complete with access to significant long-term capital,” said Tony Lourakis, founder and CEO of Fleet Complete. “This, coupled with our ongoing partnership with MDP, will enable us to continue our fast growth and focus on being the world’s leading provider of mission-critical connected technologies for fleets, assets and mobile workforce-based businesses.”
Lourakis and Andrew Merisanu launched a company that would later become Fleet Complete in 1998 to provide a software platform for couriers. The business expanded to Australia in 2003 and more recently in Europe with the acquisitions of ITmobile in 2016 and Ecofleet this January.
Merisanu has since left the company to become senior director of development at RBC Ventures. He also serves as chief technology officer for MoveSnap, a startup that helps individuals with tasks associated with moving.
Fleet Complete has about 500,000 users at 30,000 businesses in the United States and
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Canada
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- Germany
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Sweden
In 2017, Fleet Complete purchased BigRoad, a Canadian provider of electronic logging devices and regulatory compliance services.
The company also struck deals with General Motors Co. and Toyota to incorporate its telematics systems in commercial vehicles.
Fleet Complete maintains distribution partnerships for its products and services with AT&T in the United States, Telus in Canada, T-Mobile in Europe and Telstra in Australia.
Jane Rowe, senior managing director of private capital at Ontario Teachers’, said the Fleet Complete investment is part of an effort to help management achieve its growth objectives.
“Fleet Complete has a proven track record of robust growth, underpinned by its successful global expansion strategy and product innovation,” Rowe stated. “We look forward to working closely with Fleet Complete’s senior leadership team and MDP in a partnership that we believe will help further accelerate Fleet Complete’s global growth ambitions.”
Ontario Teachers’ manages C$193.9 billion in net assets on behalf of 323,000 active and retired teachers in the province of Ontario and has invested in more than 500 companies since launching a private capital investment fund in 1991.
Among the holdings in the Ontario Teachers’ investment portfolio are SeaCube Container Leasing, Global Container Terminals and PODS Enterprises.
Earlier this year, Ontario Teachers’ participated in the recapitalization of GFL Environmental Inc., a Toronto-based waste management firm. In October, GFL Environmental announced plans to merge with Waste Industries in Raleigh, N.C., in a deal valued at C$3.65 billion. When completed, the combined enterprise will be the largest privately owned environmental services company in North America with 98 collection operations, 59 transfer stations, 29 material recovery facilities, 10 organics facilities and 47 landfills.
