Bahrain-headquartered private equity firm Investcorp has completed the acquisition of ABAX Group for approximately NOK 1.8 billion (190 million euros) in line with its plans to establish the company as a leading player in the global telematics market.

Investcorp has completed the acquisition of ABAX Group for approx NOK 1.8 billion (190m euros).

Founded in 2003, ABAX has developed a range of fleet tracking, electronic triplogs, equipment and vehicle control systems and order management systems. Headquartered in Larvik, Norway, the company has established operations across the Nordic region as well as in Poland, the Netherlands, the UK and China, and has over 200,000 active subscriptions for its service and 25,500 customers.

In a statement, Investcorp said it plans to support ABAX’s international growth both organically and by add-on acquisitions, further expanding its customer base into new markets.

Fahad Murad, managing director at Investcorp for Bahrain, said, “ABAX is one of Europe’s fastest growing technology companies, with a clear market leading position in the Nordic telematics industry. Given Investcorp’s experience in the telematics industry, we believe we are the right partner to help ABAX achieve its full potential. We are looking forward to working with the management team and growing ABAX through a combination of organic and acquisitive strategies.”

The transaction is Investcorp’s fourth in Scandinavia in the past 18 months and its fourth investment in the telematics sector globally, having previously owned SageQuest and Fleetmatics which successfully merged and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012, before being acquired by Verizon for $2.4bn last year. Investcorp also acquired a majority holding in Turkish telematics company Arvento in 2015.

Petter Quinsgaard, ABAX CEO, said: “Our conversations with Investcorp in the lead up to this agreement gave us great confidence that they will help us take the company forward. We think that Investcorp’s track record in the Nordic region as well as their understanding of broader technology markets will provide us with the ideal support to expand our international reach in the telematics industry.”