Verizon to buy GPS firm for $2.4 bn

Verizon Communications has agreed to buy GPS vehicle-tracking company, Fleetmatics Group, in a deal valued at $2.4 billion, vaulting the telephone company deeper into the automotive-technology market. Verizon will pay $60 a share for the Dublin-based company, a 40 per cent premium to Fleetmatics' closing price last week, according to a statement on Monday. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.