RANCHO
CORDOVA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 20, 2006--Hansen Information
Technologies (Hansen(R)) today announced the acquisition of San
Francisco-based Spear Technologies, Inc., the leading provider of
asset management solutions for the public transit and rail market.
Today, Spear solutions support the maintenance activities at four
of the ten largest public transit agencies in the United States,
including New York City Transit, Los Angeles County MTA, Dallas Area
Rapid Transit, and San Francisco Municipal Railway. The company's
products also support the maintenance activities at three of the
five largest bus companies serving central London.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but acquisition
financing was provided by existing investors, led by San
Francisco-based Golden Gate Capital, a $2.6 billion private equity
fund.
"The acquisition of Spear Technologies is consistent with our
strategy of building a suite of scalable Microsoft .NET business
applications that serve the government enterprise," said Chuck
Hansen, Chairman and CEO of Hansen. "Given the asset-intensive
nature of government, with fixed assets often representing over 70%
of total assets, Spear enhances Hansen's position as the de facto
standard for the management and valuation of public sector assets.
The addition of Spear to our portfolio expands Hansen's ability to
integrate, streamline, and manage the design, permitting,
construction, operation, maintenance, rehabilitation, and revenue
cycle of public sector assets."
Founded in 1997, Spear serves over 10,000 users worldwide and
maintains transportation and rolling stock assets that move over 11
million people each day. Spear's ten largest U.S. public transit
customers manage more than 17,000 bus and rail vehicles. Key
benefits of Spear's solutions include increased asset utilization,
enhanced workforce productivity, improved safety, minimized
inventory levels, improved warranty collections, and increased
return on assets.
"We are delighted to team with a visionary company like Hansen
that is focused exclusively on delivering business solutions to the
government market," stated Mike Thomas, Founder & Chairman of
Spear. "Teaming with Hansen allows us to expand our presence in the
mid-size public transit and international rail markets."
John Barbera, President & Chief Operating Officer of Spear
added, "Hansen and Spear customers will benefit by standardizing on
a single vendor that can deliver an end-to-end solution using a
Microsoft .NET platform. Hansen's integrated suite of web-based
Asset Management, Building Permit, CRM, Financials, GASB 34
Valuation, GIS, Transportation, and Web Portal solutions, provide a
nature extension to our public transit and rail domain expertise."
In the United States, selected Spear customers include: Amtrak,
Capital District Transit Authority, Charlotte Area Transit System,
Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Golden Gate Bridge Highway Transportation
District, Hampton Roads Transit, Hudson Bergen Light Rail, Los
Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority, Kansas City Area
Transportation, Authority, San Joaquin Regional Transit District,
New York City Transit, Pierce Transit, Riverside Transit Authority,
San Mateo County Transit, Port Authority Trans-Hudson, San Francisco
Municipal Railway, and Utah Transit Authority.
Selected Spear international customers include: Arriva,
Freightliner, Go-Ahead Group, Metroline, and Romanian State
Railways.
"We are committed to protecting the significant investment in
technology made by Spear customers," said Mark Watts, President of
Hansen. "Customers of Spear will immediately gain access to our deep
understanding of Microsoft .NET solutions and history of delivering
a steady stream of customer-driven enhancements."
Spear immediately becomes Hansen's new Transit and Rail Business
Unit, supporting its own dedicated global sales, product management,
project delivery, application development, and training resources.
Customers and prospects will get their first glimpse of the
Hansen-Spear product offering at the upcoming American Public
Transit Association (APTA) Conference, April 30 - May 3 in Anaheim,
CA. Attendees are encouraged to visit the Hansen/Spear Internet Cafe
throughout the conference.
About Spear Technologies, Inc.
Spear is the world's leading provider of public transit and rail
asset management systems. Headquartered in San Francisco,
California, the company focused on helping public sector customers
maintain high-value rolling stock and moving assets, such as busses,
railway, aircraft, vessels, and support fleets. In addition, the
company is a leader in managing fixed and linear assets, such as
mining equipment, passenger terminals, airports, and track. For more
information, visit http://www.speartechnologies.com/.
About Hansen Information Technologies
Founded in 1983, Hansen(R) is the world's leading provider of
intelligent, adaptive, and pervasive solutions that help manage the
transactions of government. Headquartered in Rancho Cordova,
California, the company is a privately-held corporation employing
over 300 people with offices in Auckland, London, Melbourne, Perth,
Sydney, and Toronto. For more information, visit http://www.hansen.com/.