Cross Match Holdings and DigitalPersona have just now announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. The result is what is being called the largest independent provider of biometric identity solutions.
With this acquisition, Cross Match is also taking the opportunity to shake things up in terms of management, appointing Rich Agostinelli, current CEO of DigitalPersona, to the same role at the resultant merged company.
EXCLUSIVE: Peter O’Neill interviews Rich Agostinelli, newly appointed CEO of merged Cross Match and DigitalPersona
Both companies will be keeping their names and the merger will not affect any operations currently being undertaken by either party. The headquarters for Cross Match and DigitalPersona will continue to be headquartered out of the acquiring party’s current HQ in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
“While the two companies will operate independently in the near-term, the complementary nature of their products, technologies and global support organizations should make for a relatively quick and seamless integration,” says newly appointed CEO, Agostinelli. “Cross Match and DigitalPersona are both leaders in biometric technologies with a strong brand presence in global markets, however there’s little overlap in our portfolios. There is a lot of natural synergy. As a result, we’ll be able to offer our customers a portfolio of solutions that’s unparalleled in our industry.”
Mike Kohlsdorf, operating partner for Francisco Partners and who served as interim CEO of Cross Match prior to the merger, agrees with Agostinelli’s assessment, saying, “Cross Match is strong in multimodal biometric technologies and government solutions. DigitalPersona is strong in identity verification and the commercial sector, especially finance, retail and healthcare. So, the fit is highly complementary.”
“The merger also broadens our global coverage, especially in Asia and Europe,” adds Kohlsdorf. “The combination holds a lot of promise for our customers. We will be able to bring them some highly differentiated offerings as we bring the organizations together.”
Rich Agostinelli went on to speak about his new role.
“It’s an exciting time to lead an organization like this,” Agostinelli added. “Biometrics is now widely accepted as a critical component of effective security systems for logical and physical access control, and is rapidly expanding from its roots in law enforcement, military and civil ID programs, to broader applications ranging from microfinance to mobile commerce to e-passports. This merger positions us perfectly to capitalize on these opportunities.”
findBIOMETRICS was granted an exclusive interview with Agostinelli which is now online. Be sure to read, share and comment on social media about this massive acquisition.
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April 21, 2014 – by Peter B. Counter
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