British telecommunications company Vodafone has signed an agreement to acquire the Italy-based automotive technology provider Cobra Automotive Technologies for EUR145m.
The move is part of part of the telecommunications company's plans to expand machine-to-machine (M2M) industry connectivity for millions of devices such as cars and other machines.
Vodafone M2M Director Erik Brenneis said the combination of Cobra will create a new global provider of connected car services.
"We plan to invest in the business to offer our automotive and insurance customers a full range of telematics services," Brenneis added.
The acquisition is expected to support Vodafone's plans to connect devices within sectors including healthcare, automotive, transportation and energy.
Cobra Automotive Technologies is a provider of security, telecommunications and vehicle tracking for the automotive and insurance industries.
According to reports, the mobile carriers around the world consider M2M to be a significant source of growth with growing usage of devices such as smart meters, which monitor energy usage at homes or devices in offices.
