Fleet Management: GMV Buys Majority Of Spanish Fare-Collection System Company

GMV, the multinational firm specializing in the supply, development and integration of engineering systems for the aerospace, defense, transport-telematics and telecommunications sectors, has purchased a majority stake (66 percent) of the Spanish company MASISCONVI, S.A. thereby taking over effective control of the company and ensuring the right to acquire the rest of the company's capital.

The agreement allows GMV to incorporate MASISCONVI's wide range of electronic fare-collection systems into its own range of products in the passenger transport telematics area, where it has traditionally concentrated on GPS-based fleet management systems. GMV now has the ability to offer fleet operating companies a complete, across-the-board coverage of all their possible needs in the field of information systems and communications.

"Expanding our business in the area of transportation systems is part of GMV's global growth strategy," said Theresa Beech, managing director and vice president of business development of GMV's North America division. "And aquisitions are one important way we are looking to expand."

GMV
Founded in 1984, GMV is a Madrid-based industrial and technological group boasting a staff of more than 800 employees and clocking up a turnover of more than €65 million. It runs subsidiaries in Portugal and the United States.

MASISCONVI, S.A., focuses on the design, development, manufacture and marketing of electronic fare-collection systems, using state-of-the-art technology. The company was founded in 1999.

The incorporation of MASISCONVI will give GMV a sharper competitive edge in certain segments of the transport market, where there is a growing trend of merging fleet management systems (where GMV is the market leader in Spain) and fare-collection systems. The agreement enables GMV to better service its long-standing clientele and develop lower-cost systems with improved service features to break into the emerging markets.

MASISCONVI already has a strong foothold in some of these emerging markets in South America and North Africa, so its integration into GMV will not only boost its growth prospects but also improve the joint market position of both firms in the transport telematics market, speeding up their expansion into new geographical areas.

For more information about GMV, visit www.gmv.com

SOURCE: GMV