Gemalto now known as Thales Digital Identity and Security with acquisition completed

Thales has completed the €4.8 billion acquisition of Gemalto, forming a global security giant to offer biometrics and other digital identity and security technologies to critical infrastructure providers such as banks, telecom operators, government agencies, and utilities, according to an announcement.

The combination of Thales’ dominance in the financial services, aerospace, military, mass transit, and space equipment industries and Gemalto’s prominence in government identification systems raised the possibility that one of the many government bodies that had to approve the deal would see the merged Group as an antitrust risk. The European Commission imposed a condition that Thales divest its nShield business, but the deal’s completion 15 months after it was initially agreed to in 2017 is only slightly later than the initial estimate of late-2018. The new merged group says it protects 80 percent of the world’s banking transactions and recorded a combined €19 billion in 2018 sales.

Gemalto will now be known as Thales’ Digital Identity and Security (DIS) division, one of seven global divisions. The new division will interact with all of the Group’s civil and defense customers, and strengthen its industrial presence in 68 countries, according to the announcement. The merger gives Thales a much larger presence in Latin America, Northern Asia, Southeast Asia, and North America.

“With Gemalto, a global leader in digital identification and data protection, Thales has acquired a set of highly complementary technologies and competencies with applications in all of our five vertical markets, which are now redefined as aerospace; space; ground transportation; digital identity and security; and defence and security,” says Thales Chairman and CEO Patrice Caine. “These are the smart technologies that help people make the best choices at every decisive moment. The acquisition is a turning point for the Group’s 80,000 employees. Together, we are creating a giant in digital identity and security with the capabilities to compete in the big leagues worldwide.”

Gemalto recently acquired fingerprint scanner maker Green Bit to integrate its scanners into its AFIS offerings.

Article Topics

acquisitions  |  biometrics  |  Gemalto  |  Thales  |  Thales Digital Identity and Security