Summit Partners, FleetCor exit Masternaut to Michelin

Katharine Hidalgo
17 May 2019

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Summit Partners and FleetCor Technologies have sold their stakes in telematics provider Masternaut to France-based tyres manufacturer Michelin.

Summit Partners typically invests between $5-100m in equity and up to $500m in debt in target companies. At the time of the firm's initial investment, the GP was drawing from its Summit Partners Growth Equity VIII vehicle, which closed on $2.7bn in 2012.

The transaction has been made on the basis of 8x the company's 2018 EBITDA before synergies. Masternaut will continue to operate under its own brand as a wholly owned subsidiary of Michelin, and the transaction is expected to close within the next 60 days.

Following the transaction, Masternaut plans to roll out its offering across Europe by using Michelin's network. The company also plans to increase the volume of data captured, allowing it to improve product performance and develop its data science deployments, such as predictive maintenance.

Previous funding
Summit Partners initially provided backing to the company in 2002.

Francisco Partners acquired Masternaut from Hub Telecom, a France-based telecommunications company, in 2011. The private equity firm merged the company with UK-based telematics provider Cybit Holding, which the firm took private in 2009 in a deal that valued that company at £22.8m. The combined entity employed 500 people.

Technology network Future Fifty invested in the company in 2013.

Summit Partners and FleetCor formed a joint venture in 2014 to acquire Masternaut. The management team remained shareholders in the company and continued to operate the business. At the time, the company generated a turnover of £33.9m, operating profits of £5.47m and an estimated EBITDA of £13.75m.

Company
Founded in 1996, Masternaut operates primarily in France and the UK. It provides a platform that offers on-board telematics for vehicle fleet management and monitoring. Headquartered in London, Masternaut manages more than 220,000 mostly light utility vehicles under contract. The company employs 400 people.

People
Summit Partners – John Carroll (managing director); Anthony Clavel (principal); Bruce Evans (senior adviser); Han Sikkens (managing director, head of Europe).
Michelin – Florent Menegaux (managing general partner).
Masternaut – Dhruv Parekh (CEO).