iSuppli Buys Telematics Research Group

US electronics research specialist iSuppli is continuing on the acquisition trail, buying Telematics Research Group (TRG), a firm that specialises in vehicle electronics business intelligence. Terms were not disclosed.

In April, iSuppli acquired German market intelligence firm Wicht Technologie Consulting (WTC), a provider of research on photovoltaics and MEMS.

Established in 2000 and based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, TRG tracks, analyzes and forecasts the markets for automotive telematics, navigation, digital entertainment, and advanced driver assistance systems.

The firm's operations will be integrated with the existing iSuppli Automotive Infotainment and Electronics Services, along with its research on vehicle Microelectromechnical Systems (MEMS), to enable iSuppli to provide a comprehensive analysis of automotive electronics, technologies and related services.

Phil Magney, Founder and Principal Analyst for TRG, will head the expanded iSuppli automotive research practice, and said that his firm is looking forward to bringing its research to a wider global audience.

According to iSuppli President and CEO Derek Lidow: 'TRG clients have access to the world's richest database of automotive telematics and infotainment electronics. The analytical knowledge, experience and databases of the two firms will meld to form an iSuppli research practice that is able to produce the world's most in-depth and actionable market and technology roadmaps for automotive electronics and systems.'

iSuppli employs some 120 analysts and researchers at its headquarters in El Segundo, California and at additional offices in the US, UK, Israel, China, Japan and Korea.

Web sites: www.isuppli.com and www.telematicsresearch.com .