FPC CEO considering acquisitions to expand into new markets

Fingerprint Cards AB CEO Christian Fredrikson said he is considering making acquisitions to help expand into new market segments such as sensor-equipped cards, access systems for buildings, smart-home technology, and cars, according to a report by Bloomberg.

In a recent interview, Fredrikson said that one way to accelerate the company’s expansion efforts would be to acquire technology, businesses or competence outside its own core mobile business.

“In the area we’re now in, we have a good position, but surely in new segments we have to look at our position,” Fredrikson said. “I always consider M&A. There are companies, absolutely, but we’ll have to consider if it’s the right strategic fit.”

Fredrikson said the company is using “a funnel” to look at potential acquisitions, and that it is unlikely FPC will seek larger acquisitions as they can be “very dangerous in such a fast-moving industry” because of the number of years it takes to integrate them.

“You have to evaluate what you can do yourself, what you can do with partners and what you should buy because it’s so important,” Fredrikson said. “It has to be something we need technologically, something prominent.”

Fredrikson said FPC will increase its investments to help achieve its expansion plans, but declined to say by how much.

The company anticipates that its market share for fingerprint sensors will end up in the upper half of a 50 percent to 70 percent range this year, which would be significant increase from the 45 percent share it commanded last year.

However, Fredrikson admits that it is unlikely that the company will be able to hold on to that market share for much longer.

“It cannot continue like that and we don’t plan to keep those market shares,” Fredrikson said. “We haven’t given any guidance, but in our plans we have said that we understand well that competition in high technology just increases.”

Christian Fredrikson took over as FPC CEO from Jörgen Lantto on August 1. As previously announced, the change was made to strengthen the company’s organization in order to execute the firms strategy of adapting fingerprint sensors into new market areas such as smart cards and internet of things.

Article Topics

acquisitions  |  biometrics  |  Christian Fredrikson  |  Fingerprint Cards  |  fingerprint sensors