BUSINESS WATCH acquisition
Boekhoorn acquires VOICE.TRUST
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arcel Boekhoorn, a private equity investor, has acquired a majority stake in the German high-tech company VOICE.TRUST for 16.5 million. Founded in 2000, VOICE.TRUST produces speaker verification technology which is Common Criteria certified for self service password reset, caller identification and (multi-factor) authentication. VOICE.TRUST’s technology is designed to enable enterprises to quickly and seamlessly integrate speaker verification technology and secure automation capabilities into enterprise network security, service desks, mobile payment, e-commerce, banking and other self service automation solutions. The company claims its solutions are deployed in worldwide Fortune 500 companies, including financial services, insurance, automotive and healthcare industries. The company is headquartered in Munich, Germany, and in Silicon Valley, California. A subsidiary in Dubai, UAE, will be established in the near future to service the Middle East / Asia Pacific region. Boekhoorn M&A said it will support the company to extend its operations to the consumer market, especially for mobile payment applications. Contact: Marc Mumm at VOICE.TRUST, Tel: +49 89 12716140, Email:
[email protected]
75% of Saflink’s commo n stock and the security holders of Saflink would continue to hold the remaining 25% of Saflink’s common stock. The merger agreement has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors and by IdentiPHI’s stockholders. The merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of Saflink’s stockholders, and is expected to close by the end of 2007. Following the completion of the merger, the combined company will operate as IdentiPHI with its headquarters in Austin, Texas. The existing management teams will combine as a result of the merger with Steve Oyer, who took on the role of interim CEO with Saflink last September, to serve as chairman and CEO of the combined company, and Peter Gilbert, current IdentiPHI CEO, as vice chairman and senior vice president of Sales and Marketing. The seeds of the merger were sown following the successful collaboration on the sale of Saflink’s market-leading biometric middleware product lines – SAFsolution and SAFmodule – to IdentiPHI earlier this year. Subsequently, IdentiPHI was able to upgrade and seamlessly integrate this technology into its security software suite and has begun an aggressive global sales and marketing campaign. Contact: John Atkinson at IdentiPHI, Tel: +1 703 945 1720, Email:
[email protected]
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inancially challenged Saflink Corporation, a provider biometric identity solutions, and IdentiPHI, a privately held provider of enterprise security solutions and consulting services, have announced a definitive merger agreement under which Saflink and IdentiPHI will combine into a single, publicly held company. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Saflink will acquire all of the outstanding shares of IdentiPHI in a stock-for-stock transaction where all of the outstanding shares of IdentiPHI common stock will be exchanged for an aggregate of 614,981,516 shares of Saflink common stock. Upon completion of the merger, the former security holders of IdentiPHI would hold approximately
October 2007
• Communication Intelligence Corporation (CIC) has joined forces with Direct Computer Resources (DCR) to form a strategic partnership. DCR will integrate CIC’s electronic signature solutions into its DataVantage Global products to secure audit reports and system configuration files for the financial services industry and other business and government sectors. Using the transcript functionality of DataVantage Global in conjunction with CIC’s eSignature technology allows enterprise users to “lock down” their configuration and property files. • ImageWare Systems has announced a strategic, multi-year licensing agreement with Lockheed Martin for its Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). ImageWare will use AFIS to deliver more comprehensive identification solutions, specifically targeting local governments. Under the terms of the agreement, ImageWare will license and integrate the Lockheed Martin AFIS into its IWS Biometric Engine product. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
company news
Cogent and Northrop Grumman settle dispute
merger
Saflink and IdentiPHI announce merger
C O M PA N Y N E W S
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ogent Systems and Northrop Grumman Corporation have reached an important agreement to settle a lawsuit filed by Cogent in 2005. The lawsuit alleged that Northrop Grumman had misappropriated Cogent’s proprietary technology and trade secrets for automated fingerprint identification software for use on the IDENT1 contract with the British Police Information Technology Organisation, and its successor, the National Policing Improvement Agency. Under the terms of the agreement, Northrop Grumman has agreed to pay Cogent US$25 million to settle the litigation. Northrop Grumman has also agreed to pay Cogent US$15 million for a non-exclusive licence to use specified Cogent automated fingerprint identification software in certain existing programmes, including IDENT1. The two firms have also agreed a five-year R&D, service and products deal, under which Northrop Grumman will pay Cogent US$20 million for products and services.
• A settlement and patent licensing agreement has been reached between Cogent Systems and UPEK. Under the terms of this agreement Cogent has withdrawn its lawsuit against UPEK for infringement of US Patent number 6,002,815 (entitled “Linear Sensor Imaging Method and Apparatus”). The agreement eliminates the need for any further court proceedings related to use of this patent and will allow UPEK to incorporate certain Cogent patented technologies for use with its fingerprint biometric sensor products and solutions. • Identica Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of US-based Identica Holdings Corporation, has teamed up with Unisys Canada to deploy a biometric credentialing and access control database system (CACDS). The system will be used to secure the Port of Halifax using Identica’s hand vascular pattern recognition technology. With Identica’s Vascular Pattern Scanners (VP-II) and HID iCLASS smart cards, the Port of Halifax expects to strengthen security and manage workforce access control for more than 4000 workers.
Biometric Technology Today
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