Minorplanet to take majority stake in @Track

LONDON, England (Feb. 15, 2001) — Minorplanet Systems, a British supplier of vehicle tracking and fleet management systems, has agreed to acquire up to 64% of @Track Communications of Richardson, Texas.

Minorplanet said it will buy 140 million shares of @Track common stock and subscribe for 10 million shares of @Track common stock for $10 million US, to be used as working capital.

@Track, which sells HighwayMaster 5000 mobile communications and TrackWare trailer-tracking products, will distribute and manage Minorplanet’s VMI system, a GPS- and Internet-based fleet management product, in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

VMI is a complete system including both hardware and software. It can be configured for virtually any digital data network, including CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data) on certain analog cellular networks, and will be able to interface with business applications.

@Track began business as HighwayMaster in 1993, offering cellular-based data and voice communication to commercial fleets. But the company struggled to compete with satellite-based systems. When @Track’s stock dropped below $1 late last year, Nasdaq stock exchange threatened to delist it.

Yesterday, on the news of MinorPlanet’s investment, Nasdaq conditionally extended the listing of @Track Communications on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market until April 23.