Signal Ocean acquires LgMAR, adding the Telix messaging platform to its offering

Signal Ocean announced the acquisition of LgMAR, an Athens-based company specializing in maritime communications software and the creator of Telix, an email and messaging platform used in the shipping industry since 1989. The deal adds to the group's string of technology acquisitions and extends its business beyond market intelligence into the daily workflows of commercial shipping.

Telix is used by shipowners, managers, brokers, agents and other shipping companies, serving several hundred clients and thousands of users, with Greece as its largest market, according to Splash 247. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Signal Ocean CEO Ioannis Martinos noted that email is an important part of the shipping workflow and that LgMAR spent 37 years building its position in the industry, so continuity will be the immediate priority for customers of both companies.

According to Signal, the intention is to combine its data, artificial intelligence and analytics capabilities with LgMAR's communication technology, bringing the information used to make commercial decisions closer to the email environment where chartering, operations and post-fixture work are carried out. Telix evolved from an original messaging system into a broader suite that includes web, desktop and mobile communications, as well as vessel positions, orders, sale and purchase information and fleet tools, and according to LgMAR its systems handle millions of messages daily across the maritime community.

Helen Skourtis, Managing Director of LgMAR, said they built Telix by listening to people in shipping and solving the problems they faced, and that what mattered when choosing the next step was finding a partner who understood that. According to Skourtis, Signal is a company born within the industry that values the same things LgMAR does: the product, the team and the clients who stood by them for decades.

The acquisition of LgMAR comes after Signal Ocean acquired French maritime data and software specialist AXSMarine in January, whose portfolio includes the dry bulk platform AXSDry and the container shipping data provider Alphaliner, broadening the group's reach in freight, commodities and liner shipping intelligence. Since then, Signal has also added the Skipper AI assistant this summer to query maritime data in natural language, with a recent update aimed at delivering faster, more accurate answers in the tanker, dry bulk and gas markets.