Thales completes Gemalto acquisition

Thales, the French manufacturer of defence electronics, has completed the acquisition of security company Gemalto, reports Reuters. The acquisition involved 4.8 billion euros. The acquisition will increase Thales’ presence in the security market.

“Together, we are making a giant in digital identity and security, with the potential to compete with the big players worldwide,” said Thales president and CEO Patrice Caine. Thales is the largest manufacturer of defence electronics in the European Union.

With the acquisition of Gemalto, the company hopes to gain a larger share in the growing security services market. The intention is to combine Thales’s digital business with Gemalto’s. The aim of the project is to create a new digital business. However, Gemalto continues to do business under its own brand.

The company is currently listed in Amsterdam and Paris. The intention is that these stock exchange listings should be discontinued as soon as possible. When exactly that is, is still unknown.

Takeover

The takeover has been in progress for more than a year. In December 2017, Thales reached an agreement to purchase Gemalto for 4.8 billion euros. However, this did not go without a hitch, as several countries had to give their approval for the takeover. The United States, China, Canada, Israel and Turkey gave their consent in September last year.

Australia and the European Union followed in December last year, but had some conditions. For example, Thales has to sell the nShield security modules division to eliminate competition concerns. nShield technology generates keys and encrypted data.

At the end of March, Thales announced that it had acquired almost 86 percent of Gemalto’s shares. At that time, the company already announced that the acquisition would probably be completed today. This month Gemalto will be officially included in the books of Thales.