Maine navigational company DeLorme to be purchased by Garmin
PHOTO CREDIT / PETER VAN ALLEN
The Yarmouth-based navigational company DeLorme announced that it has entered a purchase agreement with Swiss navigational company Garmin.
Eartha, the iconic blue globe that has greeted travelers and Maine-natives alike as they travel south on Interstate 295 is soon to be under new ownership, as the Yarmouth-based navigation company DeLorme has entered into a purchase agreement with the Swiss navigational powerhouse Garmin.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. A press release stated the acquisition of DeLorme and all of its assets is expected to be completed within 30 to 60 days. Garmin plans to retain the majority of the employees of DeLorme and will continue to operate out of the Yarmouth location following the acquisition, primarily as a research and development facility.
The substantial acquisition of DeLorme and all of its assets is expected to be completed within 30 to 60 days, there is no word yet about the effect that the sale of the company will have on its work force, and the company still plans on operating out of their Yarmouth location.
"DeLorme is a respected brand with exciting products and technologies that are a natural fit in the Garmin portfolio," Cliff Pemble, Garmin’s president and CEO said in a statement today announcing the agreement. "We look forward to completing the acquisition and welcoming them onto our team. We are looking forward to leveraging their expertise to further enhance the Garmin lineup of products."
DeLorme was founded in 1976 by David DeLorme, who was frustrated at the lack of up-to-date maps for the Moosehead region, an area that the outdoorsman frequently visited. His maps, which were sold out of the back of his car for several months, were created by gathering the most up-to-date collections of state highway, county, and town maps as well as federal surveys. DeLorme’s “The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer" has been an iconic guide for visitors to Maine as well as residents with its detailed maps of many regions in the state that are otherwise difficult to navigate.
While DeLorme is perhaps most well known for its Gazetteer, the navigation company has been a leader in utilizing new technologies for its products. In 1987, the company released one of the first ever CD-ROMs containing an atlas of the entire globe. Since the 1990s the company has been a leader in consumer-based GPS navigational software.
Garmin officials said that in addition to its vast portfolio of digital navigation products, it was DeLorme’s inReach two-way satellite communication device that caught the company’s eyes for a potential sale.
The inReach two-way satellite communication device that allows the user to communicate through satellite text messages or to trigger an SOS emergency call.
"Our inReach technology is invaluable to hikers, hunters, boaters, and pilots who often find themselves in remote areas — Garmin’s core customers. We are looking forward to completing the acquisition and are excited to help leverage our expertise into enhancing their already outstanding products," said Michael Heffron, CEO of DeLorme in a statement. "Garmin has extensive R&D capabilities and a global distribution network that will allow us to provide this technology to customers across many markets and around the world."
Update 2/12: Here's the latest, one day after the sale was announced.
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