WiLAN to acquire International Road Dynamics

Canadian patent licensing company WiLAN is to acquire intelligent transportation systems (ITS) supplier International Road Dynamics for an equity value of approximately US $47.4 million (CA$63.5 million). The acquisition is part of WiLAN’s growth strategy which will see it operate under the Quarterhill name from around the beginning of June 2017.
April 20, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

Canadian patent licensing company 8619 WiLAN is to acquire intelligent transportation systems (ITS) supplier 69 International Road Dynamics for an equity value of approximately US $47.4 million (CA$63.5 million). The acquisition is part of WiLAN’s growth strategy which will see it operate under the Quarterhill name from around the beginning of June 2017.

As IRD is an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) company specialising in ITS and producing a portfolio of integrated hardware and software solutions to better detect, measure and analyse a variety of transportation challenges, the acquisition fits in with Quarterhill’s growth strategy. Quarterhill will focus on acquiring technology companies in the IIoT segment across multiple verticals. The acquired businesses will operate independently as subsidiaries of Quarterhill. WiLAN will continue as a key subsidiary of Quarterhill focusing on patent licensing.

According to Shaun McEwan, interim CEO of WiLAN, IRD fits its acquisition profile and has built an attractive portfolio of IP protected technology and an enviable track record of financial performance that includes a growing base of recurring revenue and solid cash flow generation.

Terry Bergan, president and CEO of IRD, said, “The Quarterhill platform, once in place, will give us the opportunity to focus 100 per cent of our energy on strengthening and accelerating the growth of our business. We have a history of innovation and look forward to having the expertise of the WiLAN team under the same corporate umbrella.”

Detection, Monitoring & Machine Vision Classification & Data Collection Charging, Tolling & RUC

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Travel information is heading towards smartphones
    January 30, 2012
    Travel information services are undergoing a step change as rapid increase in sales of smartphones brings ITS technology to consumers' fingertips. A virtuous circle of expanding capability is under way in traffic and travel information services, promising much for drivers and reduction of road congestion. A recent rapid rise in sales of smartphones has boosted numbers of vehicles carrying GPS enabled devices and so brought expansion of traffic data available for analysis and dissemination. Greater numbers o
    Read More
  • Kapsch says US purchase will have world-wide impact
    June 3, 2014
    Peter Ummenhofer, head of the ITS Business Unit at Kapsch TrafficCom, discusses what the recent acquisition of US ATMS specialist Transdyn will mean for the company and the ITS sector. Even a brief perusal of Kapsch’s portfolio lends credence to the company’s assertion that it is more than ‘just a tolling systems and services supplier’. Over the past few years, the company has added road safety enforcement to its offering with significant commercial vehicle operations capabilities, including weigh in motion
    Read More
  • IRD debuts next generation snowplough fleet management
    March 19, 2013
    International Road Dynamics (IRD) will take advantage of the 2013 APWA North American Snow Conference to demonstrate FleetSphere telematics, its web-based GPS telematics system with additional features specifically designed for snowplough fleet management. The solution enables fleet managers to manage the spreading and ploughing work being done on an entire road network. FleetSphere will interface with all available components installed on a snowplough, including plough blades, spreader, blast, pre-wet, and
    Read More
  • ITS industry in the US has grown to $48 billion and will expand
    April 17, 2012
    ITS America has released what it says is the most comprehensive study to date on the scope of the ITS industry in the United States and North America. Researchers found intelligent transportation to be a fast growing sector valued at approximately US$48 billion. Results indicate that cities and states with drastically reduced budgets are turning to technology solutions to maximize existing highway capacity.
    Read More

Highlighted Content