Identiv sells biometrics assets for $145M in pivot to IoT

Identiv is selling its physical security, access card and biometric identity reader operations to European security technology provider Vitaprotech in a $145 million deal.

The asset sale represents a pivot by Identiv to focus on its internet of things (IoT) business. Kirsten Newquist has been appointed as President of IoT Solutions to lead that transition.

“Our globally recognized security business naturally aligns with Vitaprotech’s strategy and vision for the market, creating a world leader in enterprise security,” comments Identiv CEO Steven Humphreys. “This strategic step is extremely positive for our IoT business, with the capital, leadership, team, and industry position to lead in our markets.”

Humphreys and other senior executives of Identiv will join Vitaprotech when the deal closes, with Newquist taking over as Identiv’s CEO. She brings 25 years of experience in strategy, product management, business development, and global sales and marketing to Identiv, according to the announcement, most recently over 17 years at Avery Dennison Corporation.

The change comes on the heels of Identiv reporting record revenue of $116.4 million in its fiscal 2023, up 3 percent year-over-year. The company shipped almost 200 million RFID units in 2023. Digital identity revenues were $68.1 million and Identiv’s Premises division made $48.3 million.

“We said at the beginning of this process that we felt each of our business units would benefit from additional resources and management focus to achieve their full potential,” says Identiv Board Chairman James Ousley. “We feel this transaction accomplishes both and provides excellent value creation paths for both businesses. Identiv’s IoT solutions business opportunity is vast, high growth, and high value-add where we believe we can establish market leadership. We expect to refocus our growth strategy with a particular focus on healthcare-related segments and other high value-add opportunities for which we believe our technology can be both differentiated and transformational.”

Identiv launched biometric MFA reader ScrambleFactor for the federal government access control market just a month ago.

The company will continue trading on the Nasdaq. The transaction is subject to the usual closing conditions and adjustments, and expected to wrap in the third quarter of 2024.

Article Topics

access control  |  biometrics  |  financial results  |  Identiv  |  stocks  |  Vitaprotech