Miovision has purchased fellow traffic management company Global Traffic Technologies (GTT) in a deal valued at $107 million USD.
The acquisition is backed by a recent $260 million CAD investment from Telus Ventures, Maverix Private Equity, and Export Development Canada (EDC).
The acquisition makes Kitchener-based Miovision one of North America’s leading smart city equipment vendors, according to The Globe and Mail.
Of the $260 million CAD, around $125 million USD is going directly to Miovision.
The purchase also marks Miovision’s fourth acquisition to date. Earlier this year, it bought Winnipeg startup MicroTraffic shortly after its purchase of Pittsburgh tech company Rapid Flow Technologies. Miovision’s first acquisition was of Arizona-based Traffop in 2021.
The recent funding was co-led by Telus, Maverix, and EDC. Telus and EDC are return investors in Miovision. EDC co-led a $15 million CAD round in late 2022, and Telus led a $120 million CAD round two years prior.
The recent funding round is a mix of financing to back the acquisition of GTT, as well as secondary and growth capital. Of the $260 million CAD, just $125 million USD is going directly to Miovision, according to the Globe. The remainder is buying out early investors. Telus, Maverix, and EDC each provided $50 million USD to Miovision. Of that, $25 million USD is going to early investors. Additionally, Telus is buying out early Miovision investor MacKinnon, Bennett & Co. for $52 million CAD.
Miovision uses a combination of computer vision, artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced analytics to help cities reduce traffic congestion and vehicle emissions. Miovision makes both software and hardware to enable communities to remotely manage and track their traffic networks.
RELATED: Miovision acquires Winnipeg’s MicroTraffic to better predict traffic collisions
Since it was spun off from 3M in 2007, GTT has changed hands several times. It was initially purchased by Canadian private equity firm Torquest Capital Partners, then sold to Vontier Corporation in 2016 before finally being acquired by Miovision. According to Miovision, its combination with GTT brings the total number of intersections where its tech is used to nearly 100,000 in North America.
As part of the deal, GTT staff will become Miovision employees and the startup will continue to support GTT customers.
As reported by The Globe, Maverix joining the Miovision cap table also combines two individuals with interesting ties to Sidewalk Labs. Miovision CEO Kurtis McBride had been a critic of the attempted smart city while Maverix managing partner John Ruffolo led a losing bid for the land Sidewalk would have been on.
Feature image courtesy Miovision.