UPS Logistics Technologies to be acquired by Thoma Bravo

UPS recently announced an agreement to sell its UPS Logistics Technologies unit to Thoma Bravo LLC, a leading private equity investment firm.

Financial details were not disclosed.

Susan Rosenberg, a spokesman for UPS, told SCMR that while the announcement will not have a significant impact on shippers, it does point to the fact that UPS is continuing to develop software for its core businesses.

UPS Logistics Technologies, headquartered in Baltimore, employs about 145 people to create high-tech transportation routing and fleet management systems.  More than 200,000 vehicles are managed through 3,300 installations worldwide representing a variety of industries.  Specific transportation management applications provide street-level route plans, real-time wireless dispatch and GPS and strategic territory planning. 

Customers use the technology and tools for effective fuel management and driver productivity.

Len Kennedy, vice president and COO of the unit, will become the chief executive officer after the acquisition, which is expected to close by Dec. 31.  When the acquisition is complete, UPS Logistics Technologies will transition its name to Roadnet Technologies Inc.  The Roadnet brand, which already identifies the company’s main products, is familiar to customers, value-added resellers and vendors.

“UPS Logistics Technologies has a talented workforce that has proven its ability to develop stand-alone technologies that help companies effectively manage their own fleets,” said Dave Barnes, UPS’s chief information officer, in a statement.  “Our decision to sell is based on UPS’s desire to focus on the development of technology directly tied to our own global package and freight networks and contract logistics services.”

The company was founded in 1983 as Roadnet Systems Corporation and was acquired by UPS in May 1986.  The sale to Thoma Bravo will in no way affect the full suite of transportation and logistics solutions offered by UPS, including the transportation of packages and freight; the facilitation of international trade, and the deployment of advanced technology to more efficiently manage customer supply chains.