Quarterhill sets sights on ETC takeover

ETC and Quarterhill-owned IRD to focus on tolling products and geographic expansion 
Charging, Tolling & Road Pricing / August 18, 2021
By Ben Spencer
Quarterhill IRD Electronic Transaction Consultants tolling Canada ETC Ritesuite
IRD's footprint will help both companies pursue tolling opportunities worldwide (© Aerogondo | Dreamstime.com)

Canada-based Quarterhill is to acquire Electronic Transaction Consultants (ETC) in a CAN$150 million deal that will complement its International Road Dynamics (IRD) business. 

Quarterhill says ETC's back-office, reporting and interoperability technology complements IRD's lane-embedded sensors and toll audit systems.

IRD's global footprint can help the two companies pursue tolling solution opportunities worldwide, the company adds. 

Quarterhill CEO Paul Hill says: “Roads and bridges in the US are in need of expansion and repair at a time when government authorities are under tight budget constraints. Tolling solutions like those offered by ETC are essential in helping to pay for and sustain these infrastructure investments.”

“ETC and IRD will work closely together to collaborate on revenue synergy opportunities with product expansion and geographic expansion being two areas where they will be able to support one another,” Hill adds. 

ETC has provided tolling and mobility systems for more than 20 years to some of the largest tolling authorities in the US, including in Texas, California and Illinois. 

According to Quarterhill, ETC's Ritesuite software platform enables authorities to customise operations to their specific needs, with features that include all electronic tolling, dynamic pricing, agency interoperability, hosted mobility solutions and machine learning.