Latest news with #ConorGildea
Irish Post
27-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Post
European private equity firm acquires innovative Irish travel technology company, uTrack
BREGAL MILESTONE, a leading European software growth private equity firm, has acquired Irish travel technology company, uTrack Software Solutions. Founded in 2011 by Eamonn Hughes and Conor Gildea, the Dublin-based company provides software for public transport companies to improve their business and services. Counting Bus Éireann and National Express among its clients, uTrack's software services support nearly 3bn passengers and more than 150,000 drivers around the world annually. The acquisition follows on from Brengal Milestone's majority strategic growth investment last month in Ridango, a global provider of mission-critical public transportation software. 'Strategic leap forward' "We identified uTrack as a compelling strategic fit for Ridango given their software platform, loyal and recurring customer base of market-leading institutions, and complementary geographic presence, which made it a natural fit for the Ridango ecosystem," said Cyrus Shey, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Bregal Milestone. "We're excited to support this combination as it unlocks meaningful synergies and accelerates growth across both platforms." uTrack, which also operates a Birmingham office, boasts some of the largest urban bus, intercity coach and school transport providers in Ireland, Britain and North America among its clients. The company's products — Origin, Unity and Rygo – enable operational excellence across a public transport business and mobile tools for a predominantly remote frontline workforce. The acquisition of uTrack will aim to strengthen Ridango's offerings by increasing capabilities for long-distance and school transport operators, expanding its presence in Western Europe and the US. The combined expertise of Ridango and uTrack will help further accelerate innovation with real-time connectivity, data-driven insights and route optimisation. "The acquisition of uTrack represents a strategic leap forward for Ridango," said Erki Lipre, Founder and CEO. "By combining our strengths and complementary services, we will deepen Ridango's AVL [Automatic Vehicle Location] and analytics capabilities and significantly strengthen our position in key global markets. "We are truly excited to welcome Eamonn, Conor, and the entire uTrack team to the Ridango family." 'Exciting milestone' A statement from the uTrack founders said the deal will help the company continue to provide innovative, sustainable solutions for transport providers and passengers. "Joining forces with Ridango is an exciting milestone for uTrack," said Hughes and Gildea. "From day one, our mission has been to enhance the passenger and operator experience through technology. "Partnering with Ridango allows us to accelerate that mission and scale our impact across Europe and North America while continuing to innovate with a shared vision for smarter, more sustainable transit."
Business Wire
24-04-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Bregal Milestone and Ridango Announce the Acquisition of uTrack Software Solutions
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bregal Milestone, a leading European software growth private equity firm, is pleased to share that, since announcing its strategic growth investment in Swedish global provider of mission-critical public transportation software Ridango AS ('Ridango') last month, it has also agreed to acquire uTrack Software Solutions ('uTrack'). Founded in 2011 by Eamonn Hughes and Conor Gildea, uTrack is a Dublin-headquartered software company providing a public transport data platform with a real-time analysis and predictive engine that feeds a suite of software services that annually supports nearly 3 billion passengers, over 5 million app users, 150,000+ drivers and 73,000+ vehicles. uTrack's clients include some of the largest urban bus, intercity coach, and school transport providers across Ireland, the UK, and North America. The company's suite of SaaS products: Origin, Unity & Rygo – enables operational excellence across a public transport business, mobile tools for a predominantly remote frontline workforce, and a transformative customer experience for passengers. The acquisition of uTrack will aim to strengthen Ridango's offerings by increasing capabilities for long-distance and school transport operators, expanding its presence in Western Europe and the US, and broadening its AVL product offering, particularly for the student and driver customer groups. The combined expertise of Ridango and uTrack will help further accelerate innovation with real-time connectivity, data-driven insights, and route optimisation, driving greater efficiency and improved experiences for both customers and operators. Cyrus Shey, Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Bregal Milestone, commented, "We identified uTrack as a compelling strategic fit for Ridango given uTrack's software platform, loyal and recurring customer base of market leading institutions, and complementary geographic presence, which made it a natural fit for the Ridango ecosystem. We're excited to support this combination as it unlocks meaningful synergies and accelerates growth across both platforms." Erki Lipre, Founder and CEO at Ridango, said, "The acquisition of uTrack represents a strategic leap forward for Ridango. By combining our strengths and complementary services, we will deepen Ridango's AVL and analytics capabilities and significantly strengthen our position in key global markets. We are truly excited to welcome Eamonn, Conor, and the entire uTrack team to the Ridango family." Co-founders of uTrack, Eamonn Hughes and Conor Gildea, added, "Joining forces with Ridango is an exciting milestone for uTrack. From day one, our mission has been to enhance the passenger and operator experience through technology. Partnering with Ridango allows us to accelerate that mission and scale our impact across Europe and North America while continuing to innovate with a shared vision for smarter, more sustainable transit." The terms of the uTrack transaction were not disclosed and are conditional upon the completion of the Ridango transaction. About Bregal Milestone Bregal Milestone is a leading software private equity firm with c.€1.3 billion of capital raised since inception. The firm provides growth capital and operational support to build market-leading software companies. Bregal Milestone is part of Bregal Investments, a leading global investment platform with assets under management of over €19 billion. Bregal Milestone was recognised by GrowthCap as one of the Top Growth Equity Firms of 2024. For more information, visit or follow us on LinkedIn. About Ridango Ridango is the software operating system of choice for public transportation providers globally, specializing in automated fare collection ('AFC'), real-time passenger information systems, automatic vehicle location tracking ('AVL'), and mobility-as-a-service ('MaaS') technology. The company partners with transport authorities and operators to enhance the efficiency, accessibility, and sustainability of public transit for customers and operators alike. About uTrack With strong expertise in inter-city travel, uTrack provides the digital software tools, innovation and expertise that enable public transport companies across the world to improve their businesses and deliver more targeted, reliable services that meet the demands of whole communities by growing passenger ridership, loyalty and satisfaction with the latest generation of real-time passenger information technology.
