Hearst has agreed to acquire an 80% stake in connected vehicle solution provider Noregon Systems, Inc. The announcement was made jointly by Hearst President and Chief Executive Officer Steven R. Swartz and Noregon Systems Founder and Chief Executive Officer Bill Hathaway. Hathaway will retain a 20% ownership stake in Noregon and continue to serve as its CEO. Terms were not disclosed and the transaction, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close by end of Q4.
Noregon was founded by Hathaway in 1993 as a custom development solutions provider for OE manufacturers in the trucking industry. In 2007, the company launched its flagship commercial product, JPRO — an all-makes commercial vehicle diagnostic application. Since then, the company has continued to innovate beyond JPRO, offering a variety of connected vehicle products and services to the medium and heavy-duty truck industry. Currently, Noregon serves more than 15,000 customers in the U.S. and Canada.
In addition to JPRO, some of the solutions Noregon offers include NextStep Repair — an interactive maintenance guide offering step-by-step instructions to guide technicians through repair issues — and TripVision Uptime — a remote diagnostics platform empowering fleet personnel to operate more efficiently to reduce breakdowns and cut repair costs.
