Paragon ID acquires UrbanThings
UrbanThings and Paragon ID join forces to accelerate growth of digital solutions for mass transit
Paragon ID (Euronext Paris - FR0013318813 - PID), leading provider of identification solutions for e-ID, transport and smart cities, traceability, brand protection and payment, is pleased to announce that it has acquired UrbanThings, a leading UK supplier of digital transport solutions. The landmark deal will see the two companies, integrate product offerings, in particular those from Paragon ID’s subsidiary airweb to accelerate the rollout of a global mobility platform for the mass transit market.
UrbanThings is a UK-based technology company that provides cities, local authorities, and passenger transport operators with a range of digital solutions. These include an integrated mobility hub for Mobility as a Service (MaaS), mobile ticketing, real-time journey information, vehicle tracking and rich passenger analytics. Their technology powers over 130 million passenger journeys a year. They are also the team behind Bus Checker, the ticketing, journey planning and real-time information app used by millions of passengers across the globe.
Paragon ID is a leading provider of smart ticketing solutions worldwide. In the last few years, the company has expanded into mobile and web ticketing solutions through its French subsidiary, airweb, the European leader in digital and mobile ticketing solutions. Paragon ID and airweb have recently launched Open ABT, a completely modular and integrated smart ticketing platform, offering a wide range of payment and validation methods such as smartphone and contactless bank cards.
Both UrbanThings and Open ABT platforms complement each other in terms of offering. UrbanThings and airweb with the support of Paragon ID will work closely to build on their existing technologies and create the most comprehensive and powerful integrated MaaS platform available to transport authorities and operators worldwide.
Carl Partridge CEO at UrbanThings states:
“More than ever, cities and transport operators need to make services efficient, effortless and sustainable for everyone. Since 2012, we’ve been creating technology solutions to enable Mobility as a Service. (MaaS) and to achieve these ambitions. Paragon ID is a natural home for our technology and team, with significant synergies and complementary products that will allow us to deliver a full-featured solution that unlocks ABT and MaaS for the global market. We are looking forward to start working with airweb’s team on the development of our combined offering."
He adds: "We're delighted to be joining the Paragon family and this acquisition will allow us to further our market ambitions to grow both domestically and further afield, ensuring that we can make travel simple for everyone.“
Clem Garvey, CEO at Paragon ID, comments:
“Access to mass transit systems is increasingly managed through mobile ticketing and payment by contactless bank cards. Our company has seen tremendous growth in this sector in the last two years and UrbanThings is a perfect fit for us. Their offering perfectly complements that of our subsidiary airweb and sits at the heart of our growth plan in the mass transit and smart cities markets.”
He adds: “The acquisition of UrbanThings will allow us to gain market share not only in the UK but also in North America and Australia in line with our strategy to become the chosen ticketing and MaaS partner in key countries. We are delighted to welcome the team to the Paragon family.”
About UrbanThings
UrbanThings is a UK-based technology company providing cities, local authorities and passenger transport operators with a smart transport platform for mobile ticketing and reservations, live vehicle tracking and rich passenger analytics.
Their technology powers over 130 million passenger journeys a year, and they are also proud to be known as the team behind BusChecker, the app that has received critical acclaim throughout the UK media and used by millions across the globe.
For further information about UrbanThings, visit Urbanthings.co.
About Paragon ID
About Paragon ID Paragon ID is a leader in identification solutions, in particular in the e-ID, Transport & Smart Cities, Traceability & Brand Protection and Payment sectors. Paragon ID employs more than 650 staff, with manufacturing sites in US and Europe, close to its customers.
Paragon ID is listed on Euronext Paris with a majority of its shares being held by Paragon Group, a leading provider of Customer Communications, Identification, Graphics Services and Office Services. Paragon Group has a turnover of €1.5 billion and more than 9,000 employees. Paragon Group combines generations of experience with the latest innovations in technology and smart data to enable responsive and meaningful interactions between organisations and their customers.