Local transportation tech firm acquired for $50 million

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Indianapolis-based Synovia Solutions LLC has been acquired by Irvine, California-based CalAmp for about $50 million, the companies announced Monday. 

The cash deal between the two transportation technology firms closed last month.

Synovia, founded in 2001, has about 120 employees and a 12,000-square-foot headquarters off of East 96th Street and North Keystone Avenue. The company saw revenue climb from $14 million in 2014 to more than $28 million last year. Synovia officials declined to say whether the acquisition would affect its local work force.

Synovia has become known for Here Comes the Bus, an app designed to notify parents and students where their bus is at all times and send alarms to their cell phones or tablets when the bus is close to their home or arriving at school. Almost 300 school districts use Here Comes the Bus, and Synovia officials told IBJ they are adding new districts weekly.

Synovia offers a wide range of transportation management services and has used CalAmp hardware since 2001.

“CalAmp has been our go-to telematics technology partner over the years and we share a vision to combine their market leading connected vehicle and visibility technologies with our municipality and government K-12 fleet management expertise to scale the business and increase market penetration,” Jon King, president and CEO of Synovia Solutions, said in a written statement.

CalAmp reported revenue of $366 million in 2018, up from $351 million a year earlier.

“This acquisition brings high-value, low-churn subscribers that are expected to bolster our recurring revenue from software and services to more than 30% of consolidated revenue, and it expands our market reach within municipalities to accelerate our leadership in the global connected vehicle economy,” CalAmp CEO Michael Burdiek said in written comments.

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