Vodafone expands into car electronics with Cobra Automotive Technologies

As part of its strategy to start connecting devices such as cars and other machines, Vodafone Group PLC said it planned to acquire Cobra Automotive Technologies, an Italian provider of electronics services to the car industry for 145 million euros ($197 million)

The British company said it had agreed to buy Cobra Automotive Technologies, a provider of security, telecommunications and vehicle tracking.

Vodafone has inked an agreement with Cobra’s main shareholders, who, together, own 73.96% of Cobra’s share capital, on a fully diluted basis, to effect certain matters including agreeing to tender their shares into the Offer. The offer is likely to be launched in the coming weeks, subject to the relevant provisions of Italian law.

In addition, Vodafone has reached a deal with certain minority shareholders of Cobra’s Telematics unit to purchase their 20% stake for 20 million euros, conditional on completion of the offer.

Vodafone, like other mobile operators, is looking to expand into the so-called machine-to-machine industry to connect millions of devices, as a new source of revenue. Cobra’s telematics products and expertise would enable Vodafone to offer a more comprehensive range of end-to-end services to automotive customers. The offer is conditional on obtaining appropriate anti-trust approvals and is expected to complete in the third quarter of 2014.

Source: rttnews