Report identifies possible Idemia buyers as Advent moves to begin process

Private equity giant Advent International is planning to sell its stake in Idemia this year, business publication Unquote reports, and is beginning the process of evaluating its prospects.

Idemia’s sales of biometrics products and digital ID solutions led to an EBITDA above €200 million (approximately US$209 million), according to the report, and Advent is expected to seek a €4.3 billion ($4.6 billion) valuation.

Sources told Unquote that Advent is premarketing Idemia now, ahead of a sale in the summer, or possible in Q3 of 2022.

The latest rumors suggest the sale will be as a unified company, contrary to reports earlier in the year that its government and enterprise-facing businesses could be split apart.

A wide range of private equity firms are expected to be interested, and fellow biometrics giant Thales could be among the front-runners to complete a deal. BAE Systems, Hensoldt, Siemens and Cisco are also noted as possible suitors.

Bidders with defense, government and tech specializations, like Carlyle, Thoma Bravo, and Veritas Capital could also bid.

Unquote’s sources are somewhat divided on Idemia’s valuation prospects given the strength of the border control and online digital identity authentication markets to macroeconomic pressures on the one hand, and questions about the company’s ability to expand, on the other.

Any sale of Idemia is likely to draw significant regulatory scrutiny.

Advent completed its acquisition of Idemia predecessor Safran in mid-2017 for €2.4 billion.

Article Topics

acquisitions  |  Advent International  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  IDEMIA  |  Thales