Oberthur acquired by private equity firm
04 August, 2011
category: Contactless, Government
Advent International, a private equity firm, purchased Oberthur’s card and identity divisions in a deal valuing the whole unit at more than $2.1 billion.
The founder of the French technology company, Jean-Pierre Savare and his family, are retaining a minority stake of about 10% in the business and also keeping Oberthur’s fiduciary printing unit.
The new company will focus on three areas for growth in the coming years:
- The electronic payment sector will drive growth in emerging markets, as well as new developments in mature markets;
- In telecommunications, the company presents offerings which should benefit from the strong development of near field communication;
- In the Identity Division, the company will continue its work in secure documents with multiple uses (citizenship, health care, driver licenses, conditional access) and has strong growth potential.
A Dow Jones Newswire report states that Oberthur may use the proceeds from the sale to mount a bid for De La Rue PLC.
See that report here.