Trafficmaster sold to private equity

The vehicle tracking specialist Trafficmaster saw its shares surge by 10 per cent after agreeing a £73.3m takeover by a US private equity firm.

San Francisco-based Vector Capital, acting via a wholly owned UK subsidiary, said it would pay 47p in cash for each Trafficmaster share, offering investors a premium of nearly 20 per to the price at which the stock was trading before the company revealed that it was in takeover talks.

The chief executive, Tony Eales, said the deal would allow Trafficmaster to "further increase its capabilities and enhance the services we provide our customers". "This transaction will increase our financial and operational flexibility and will enable us to accelerate our development," he added.