06 Feb 2017

Ground transportation narrows again – Groundlink sells to Marcou Transportation

Another noteworthy move in the ground transportation sector this week as Marcou Transportation Group buys two parts of the ecosystem to bolster its position.

GroundLink and Limo Anywhere will both become part of the Boston, US-based group, joining Marcou’s existing business Dav El-Boston Coach.

Both deals have been carried out for undisclosed fees.

Limo Anywhere was created in 2004 as a technology provider for limousine and black car operators, including tools for reservations, payments and flight tracking for pick-ups.

It has around 4,000 businesses on its books and claims to be handling more than ten million rides on an annual basis.

Groundlink was founded a year earlier and picked up a $20 million investment round in 2008 from Emigrant Capital.

The consumer-facing booking service has use of a fleet of 45,000 vehicles in around 110 countries worldwide.

Dav El, an operator of limos, corporate vans and buses in more than 500 cities in six continents, says all existing management teams and staff will remain in place within the group, with the brands continuing to run as standalone operations.

CEO Scott Solombrino claims the deals will be a “game-changer for the industry”.

He adds:

“These companies provide us the opportunity to directly compete with the TNCs, as they try to infiltrate the corporate travel market, and will allow the industry to compete in the on-demand market faster than originally anticipated.

“The implementation of auto dispatch and geospatial pricing can now be integrated into our already existing product to roll out the industry’s first on-demand service in the corporate market.”

The Groundlink and Limos Anywhere acquisitions comes at the same times Limos.com, another chauffeured vehicle player, is acquired by iCars, again for an undisclosed fee.