Trimble has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire @Road Inc. for approximately $496 million. Trimble says @Road will be incorporated into its Trimble Mobile Solution (TMS) segment, which already offers the TrimFleet family of products for fleet management and tracking.

@Road is a provider of field service management solutions within the transportation, distribution, telecom, cable, field service, utilities, facilities management and public works segments. The @Road transaction will complement Trimble's existing expertise in construction supply, direct store delivery, public safety and utilities industries, Trimble said. In addition, Trimble says it can leverage @Road's scalable software infrastructure.

Just last October @Road announced a partnership with Eaton Corp.'s newly formed Vehicle Solutions Business Unit to provide a suite of fleet management applications. Late last year, @Road also partnered with Alltel Wireless to extend its wireless coverage to customers in rural transportation and distribution hubs.

For more information, go to www.trimble.com or www.road.com