Bridgestone Corporation announced that its subsidiary Bridgestone Europe NV/SA, has entered into an agreement with TomTom to acquire TomTom Telematics, its digital fleet solutions business, for a cash consideration of €910 million (about NZ$1.5 billion). The transaction should be completed in the second quarter of 2019, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions such as regulatory approvals.

TomTom is the number one provider of digital fleet solutions in Europe, a marketplace with very diverse in legal, commercial and cultural requirements. Its digital fleet solutions business has successfully demonstrated its ability to operate in complex and demanding market environments and has continued to strengthen its potential to expand globally.

TomTom‘s digital fleet solution offers an industry leading data platform for connected vehicles enabling safer driving, improving productivity and optimising uptime for personal and commercial mobility. Combining this digital fleet solution with Bridgestone‘s tyre expertise and global service network creates an opportunity that accelerates the company‘s effort to become a key partner in the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) landscape with leading tyre products, services and solutions offerings.

In addition to reinforcing Bridgestone‘s broad and leading portfolio, this strategic investment will also strengthen its position as an innovative leader in the field of tyre design, and tyre predictive maintenance service. Bridgestone will gain unprecedented insights into vehicle and tyre operating conditions and be able to leverage a growing installed user base of 860,000 vehicles communicating 200 million data points per day.

With this acquisition, Bridgestone adds core components to its Tire and Diversified Products as a Solution strategy defining the company’s evolving business domain and continuous commitment towards value creation for its customers and the society.