BMW Acquires Provider of Digital Parking Solutions Parkmobile

BMW (BMW.XE) said Tuesday that it has acquired Parkmobile LLC, a company it billed as the largest provider of mobile-parking services in North America, for an undisclosed amount.

The deal is in line with the company's focus on the future of mobility and technology investments, including the expansion of BMW's range of services, it said.

"Up to 30 percent of city traffic is caused by people looking for parking spaces. The acquisition...means we can better address the pain point of parking by scaling our offering for customers worldwide," said Peter Schwarzenbauer, a member of BMW's board.

The car company said that by assisting drivers with parking, traffic in cities--and therefore carbon emissions--can be reduced.

"Having access to new capital as well as the BMW Group's global network of partners and customers puts us in an excellent position to accelerate our growth and expand further beyond North America," Parkmobile Chief Executive Jon Ziglar said.

The German company has held a minority stake in Parkmobile since 2014, and fully-owned Parkmobile Group Europe has since April 2016. Parkmobile is based in Atlanta, Georgia, and has more than 100 employees. It reaches more than 22 million customers in Europe and North America, and offers its services in more than 1,000 cities.

Write to Marc Bisbal Arias at marc.bisbalarias@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 16, 2018 06:47 ET (11:47 GMT)