Ireland-based GPS vehicle-tracking firm Fleetmatics is set to be bought by Verizon in a deal worth some  $2.4bn (€2.1 bn).

Verizon is the top US wireless company - this move will help it to make inroads into the fleet management market.

The company's HQ is in Tallaght in Dublin - it develops software to track vehicle location, speed, fuel usage, mileage, and more data to track vehicles.

It was founded in 2004 in Dublin, with an initial staff of 10 - it floated on the New York Stock Exchange four years ago.

News of the deal resulted in Fleetmatics shares rising by 39% while Verizon's dipped by 0.7%.

Andrés Irlando, chief executive officer of Verizon Telematics said that the move would help the company to explore a "highly fragmented and pretty under-penetrated," market.

The company has already entered this industry with its own fleet management service called Networkfleet.

This deal is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of this year.