Trimble announced that it has entered into a agreement to acquire certain assets related to the OmniSTAR Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal corrections business from Fugro N.V.

In a news release, Trimble said its acquisition should "significantly expand the company's worldwide ability to provide corrections services for land-based agriculture, construction, mapping and Geographic Information System (GIS) and survey applications."

Trimble and Fugro also entered into a multi-year service agreement which includes Fugro’s ongoing operation of its correction network and satellite service broadcast systems that power the OmniSTAR service.

Fugro’s offshore marine business is unaffected. Closing of the transaction, anticipated in the first quarter, is subject to certain closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“With the addition of the OmniSTAR services and our strong relationship with Fugro, we will offer a full range of high- precision positioning capabilities which now includes satellite-delivered corrections,” said Patricia Boothe, general manager of Trimble’s newly-formed Positioning Services Division.

“Today, our agriculture customers use OmniSTAR services to perform planting, harvesting, variable rate application and many other operations. Our expanded portfolio will provide not only farmers, but also surveying, construction and GIS professionals with more options to satisfy their particular accuracy, delivery and financial needs.”

“Trimble and OmniSTAR have enjoyed a long standing relationship,” said John Waits, president of OmniSTAR.

“The transfer of land-based GNSS signal corrections assets marks the next phase of our efforts to bring a broader range of positioning services to our combined customer base, on land and offshore. The OmniSTAR and Fugro teams remain committed to providing industry leading corrections services for customers who own a variety of GNSS receivers.”

The OmniSTAR business will be reported as part of Trimble’s Engineering and Construction segment.