Omnitracs, the original pioneer of tracking and communications in the trucking industry, announced it's buying XRS Corp., which led the industry in going to a mobile platform using the bring-your-own-device strategy.

Omnitracs will pay $5.60 per share of XRS, which equates to $178 million in equity value.Last year, Omnitracs was sold by parent company Qualcomm to Vista Equity Partners.

XRS Corp. delivers software solutions that help trucking companies manage their fleets, comply with regulations, and reduce operating costs. XRS has led the trucking industry's migration to mobile devices for collecting and analyzing compliance and management data.

The announcement says the combined company will continue to provide products and services that help fleets stay safe and improve productivity.

"This agreement to purchase XRS represents another milestone in the renewed growth of Omnitracs and further demonstrates our continued commitment to retaining and advancing our position as the leading software provider within the transportation and logistics industry," said John Graham, CEO of Omnitracs. "XRS has built a significant business focused on delivering transportation management solutions via mobile devices, and we believe this is a great addition to our suite of offerings."

Jay Coughland, chairman and CEO of XRS, said the acquisition delivers an attractive premium for  shareholders. "With complementary solutions designed to meet the varying needs of fleets across the transportation and logistics industry spectrum, our combined organizations can continue to innovate and deliver end-to-end solutions for our customers."

Last December, Omnitracs acquired Roadnet Technologies, which provides fleet management software solutions to private fleets. Other previous acquisitions include Sylectus and FleetRisk Advisors, which is now Omnitracs Analytics.

The merger agreement was unanimously approved by the board of directors of XRS. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including shareholder approval, but shareholders holding a majority of the outstanding voting power of XRS already have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the merger. Omnitracs expects to complete the acquisition in the fourth quarter of 2014.