LORTON, VA, January 9, 2023 – BusPatrol, the largest school bus safety technology provider, today announced a significant growth investment from GI Data Infrastructure. This investment will enable BusPatrol to continue to rapidly scale and diversify products within the public safety space, building on its industry-leading position. GI Partners joins FIT Ventures as investors in BusPatrol.
Founded in 2017, BusPatrol is the leader in school bus safety solutions. BusPatrol partners with school districts, law enforcement agencies, and municipalities to deter illegal and dangerous passes of stopped school buses. BusPatrol provides partners with best-in-class technology that modernizes school bus fleets, including a fully turnkey platform for capturing and processing violations. Beyond stop-arm enforcement, BusPatrol also offers school districts cloud-connected internal cameras and telematics data, so schools are empowered with the technology they need to ensure their students a safe journey to and from school.
Brendan Scollans, Managing Director and Co-Head of the Data Infrastructure Strategy, and Jerry Stapp, Managing Director from GI Partners said, “BusPatrol is now embedded in over 20,000 school buses across 16 states, providing a critical public service focused on child safety. School buses represent the largest fleet of municipal infrastructure in the Country, and we are excited about the significant growth trajectory ahead given the Company’s leading market position and the compelling proposition for school districts. Karoon and the rest of the leadership team have a clear vision, and we look forward to partnering with them to build on BusPatrol’s extensive track record.”
As a result of the investment from GI Partners, BusPatrol has significant capital to deliver its safety solutions to additional school districts across the country and to enhance its industry-leading offering.
Karoon Monfared, Chief Executive Officer at BusPatrol, said, “GI Partners’ meaningful investment is a testament to our differentiated offering, our operational excellence, and most importantly, our customer impact. As a GI Partners portfolio company, we have a significant opportunity in front of us to grow additional market share and expand into new and exciting verticals. We’re thrilled to embark on this new chapter and to have GI as a partner.”
FIT Ventures has been a significant investor and equity holder in BusPatrol since 2017 and remains committed to the long-term vision and growth strategy of the business.
“Watching BusPatrol establish its first-mover advantage as the largest player in school bus stop-arm safety and becoming the only turnkey, full-fleet solution offered in the industry has been impressive. Investing in high-growth companies with a differentiated approach is core to our mission, and BusPatrol is a prime example. GI Partners shares this belief, and we are delighted to be working with them to accelerate BusPatrol’s leading position,” said Sam Pai from FIT Ventures.
Advisors
Moelis & Company LLC served as exclusive placement agent to BusPatrol in the transaction. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP served as BusPatrol’s legal advisor. Ropes & Gray LLP acted as GI Partners’ legal advisors and Alvarez and Marsal acted as its commercial advisors.
About BusPatrol
BusPatrol is a safety technology company with the mission of making the journey to and from school safer for the 27 million children who step onboard a school bus each day. BusPatrol’s safety programs create a culture of responsibility around illegal passes. BusPatrol’s equity first approach protects every child on every bus in its partner communities while modernizing fleets with the latest cutting-edge safety technology. For more information, please visit www.buspatrol.com.
About GI Partners
GI Data Infrastructure is a sector-focused investment strategy of GI Partners. Founded in 2001, GI Partners is a private investment firm with over 150 employees and offices in San Francisco, New York, Dallas, Chicago, Greenwich, Scottsdale, and London. The firm has raised more than $42 billion in capital and invests on behalf of leading institutional investors around the world through its private equity, real estate, and data infrastructure strategies. The private equity team invests primarily in companies in the healthcare, services, and software sectors. The real estate strategy focuses primarily on technology and life sciences properties as well as other specialized types of real estate. The data infrastructure team invests primarily in hard asset infrastructure businesses underpinning the digital economy. For more information, please visit www.gipartners.com.
About FIT Ventures
FIT Ventures is a family office investment firm headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, with offices in Boca Raton, Florida. The firm oversees and manages a variety of investments focusing on private equity, real estate, and public equities. The management team of the fund is comprised of professionals with extensive experience in supporting all aspects of M&A and corporate finance activities. For more information, please visit www.fitventures.com.