Business
Seon develops, manufactures, and markets mobile video surveillance systems for fleet vehicles. Seon helps transportation managers capture, record, view, and wirelessly download on-board security footage, quickly and reliably.
Situation overview
Owned by management and local high net worth individuals in Vancouver, Canada, Seon sought a buyer who could meet multiple transaction needs. Sterling’s portfolio company, Safe Fleet, was the right fit.
Quote
Chris Akiyama, Vancouver, British Columbia,We started our business in 1999 and grew it from just an idea to a leader in fleet video management. When it came time to sell, we were focused on finding the right partner for the next phase of our company’s growth. Sterling and Safe Fleet are building a company that didn’t exist before, just like we had. That appealed to us.
Head of Sales, Son of Founder
Seon’s safety solution was a natural fit within Sterling’s Safe Fleet business, which provides safety related components to fleet vehicles. Owned by management and local high net worth individuals in Vancouver, Canada, Seon sought a buyer who could meet multiple transaction needs: liquidity for non-involved shareholders, roll-over opportunity for management, and an appreciation for the technology as part of larger safety solutions.
The management team at SEON was an innovator of safety technology. There was a need within Safe Fleet for a video offering that could span a variety of different end markets. The opportunity existed for Seon management to run a fast growing division within the Safe Fleet organization. Before the combination, SEON sold to school bus and transit bus markets. The combination of their product with Safe Fleet’s broad range of fleet end markets resulted in growth and expansion. The company benefitted from the scale and shared resources of a much larger organization.
*The experience cited here is not necessarily reflective of all who have partnered with Sterling. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Further, this individual is not an investor in any of Sterling’s affiliated investment funds, but was previously employed by a portfolio company of Sterling’s and it is possible such individual may wish to be employed by a Sterling portfolio company in the future. While this individual was not compensated for this endorsement, this individual was compensated as an employee of the portfolio company during its partnership with Sterling, and it is possible that this individual may have received or in the future receive other tangible benefits from Sterling.