News

Acquisition

Houston, TX October 25, 2017

Safe Fleet, A Portfolio Company of The Sterling Group, Acquires COBAN Technologies, Inc.

The Sterling Group, a private equity firm based in Houston, Texas, announced that its portfolio company, Safe Fleet, has completed the acquisition of COBAN Technologies, Inc. (“COBAN”). This marks Safe Fleet’s ninth acquisition during Sterling’s ownership.  Safe Fleet is a leading supplier of safety components for fleet vehicles.

COBAN is a leading supplier of body cameras and in-car video solutions for law enforcement.  “COBAN is an excellent addition to Safe Fleet’s portfolio.  We believe the combination of COBAN’s position in law enforcement with Safe Fleet’s leading video positions in School and Transit Bus, Fire, Waste, and Commercial markets establishes Safe Fleet as the largest global provider of video solutions to the fleet market,” stated John Knox, CEO of Safe Fleet.  “Safe Fleet/COBAN is now the only video provider able to comprehensively supply common and integrated video solutions to all First Responder departments as well as all municipal fleet markets.”

“The partnership with COBAN further strengthens Safe Fleet’s robust family of technology and safety solutions for a growing list of fleet end markets,” said Gary Rosenthal, Partner at The Sterling Group. COBAN marks the company’s fifth acquisition in the video and telematics sector.

About Safe Fleet

Headquartered in Belton, MO, Safe Fleet owns a portfolio of brands that provide safety solutions to fleet vehicle manufacturers and operators around the world.  These brands serve several major markets including: Bus, Rail and RV, Truck and Trailer, Work Truck, Emergency, Waste, and Industrial and Military.  With over 1,100 employees and 10 manufacturing locations, Safe Fleet targets markets with increasing demand for operator, passenger, and pedestrian safety. For more information about Safe Fleet and our portfolio of brands please visit www.safefleet.net.

About The Sterling Group

Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets controlling interests in basic manufacturing, distribution and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies range from $100 million to $750 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 52 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of over $10.0 billion. Currently, Sterling has over $2.1 billion of assets under management. For further information, please visit www.sterling-group.com.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results and all investments are subject to loss.