Au10tix co-founders negotiating sale of stake at valuation above $1B: report

The two co-founders of Au10tix are in discussions with several funds to sell their majority stake in the identity document verification and biometrics provider at a maximum valuation of $1.1 to $1.2 billion, according to a CTech report.

That valuation would make Au10tix the latest biometrics unicorn revealed, following unico, or perhaps Sumsub.

Brothers Ron and Gil Atzmon, the co-founders of the Israel-based company, are reportedly seeking to sell their combined 70 percent stake in Au10tix to several funds with interest. CTech says that the deal is estimated at between $300 million to $750 million depending on the stake to be purchased from the Atzmons. Funds TPG and Oak HC/FT, which own 7.5 percent and 3 percent of Au10tix respectively, are expected to sell their holdings alongside the Atzmons. The company has allegedly hired Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank to lead the sale, though Au10tix denies the claim.

CTech also reports that Au10tix was in advanced negotiations to merge with an unnamed special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) at a valuation of $1.4 billion, but was cancelled due to concerns that the SPAC could not raise the required private investment in public equity (PIPE) investment.

The success of Au10tix’s identity authentication and anti-fraud solutions has meant it was always profitable and never had to raise funding, CTech says. The only time the founders sold its shares was in 2019 when they sold a combined 30 percent stake to two international funds for $80 million.

Recently-added clients of Au10tix’s selfie biometric authentication service include online gaming firm Genesis Global and PayU. It claims to have prevented around $700 million in fraud-related losses and joined the North American division of the Age Verification Providers Association as an inaugural member.

Article Topics

acquisitions  |  AU10TIX  |  authentication  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  document verification  |  fraud prevention  |  identity verification  |  selfie biometrics