Identity management and authentication solution provider Entrust is slated to be acquired by a company called Datacard Group, which specializes in secure identification and card personalization technology.
The acquisition, which was made for an undisclosed sum, is expected to close Dec. 31. According to a report from Reuters, Datacard is paying $500 million in cash for Entrust, according to two individuals with “direct knowledge of the matter” who asked the news agency not to be identified.
“Connectivity is redefining physical and digital boundaries,” said Todd Wilkinson, president and CEO of Datacard Group, in a statement. “For our customers and partners, this means opportunity, but also significant complexity. For years the paths of our companies have intertwined as we served customers – often the same financial and government customers – from different points within the technology spectrum. Those paths now converge to bring powerful new innovations in secure identity to enable trust while reducing complexity in deployment, management, and use.”
Datacard Group is one of the world’s largest providers of secure identification and card issuance solutions. It customers include banks, government agencies and service bureaus and issue more than 10 million cards every day. Entrust meanwhile provides identity management security software and services, including digital certificates and multifactor authentication solutions.
After the acquisition, there are plans for the newly-formed company to accelerate investments in personalization, identity and credentialing solutions. According to the acquisition announcements, this includes expanding Secure Issuance Anywhere technologies from centrally-managed bureaus to instant issuance and mobile environments; authentication and credential management offerings that support a multiple form factors such as payment cards and identity documents, certificates and tokens; and various delivery models including both on-premise and cloud.
“Entrust is firmly established as a leader in identity-based security,” said Bill Conner, president and CEO of Entrust, in a statement. “We take this position very seriously, and because of that it was important that we find the right partner. As a result of our deliberate shift to a [software-as-a-service]-based business model, a significant portion of Entrust’s revenue is recurring, positioning it well for growth. I’m confident both Entrust and Datacard customers will realize value from our companies’ combined expertise. Simply put – this is a win-win scenario.”
