HID Global announces agreement to acquire ActivIdentity for $162m

IRVINE, Calif.—HID Global, a provider of solutions for the delivery of secure identity, on Oct. 11 announced parent company ASSA ABLOY has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ActivIdentity for $3.25 a share or approximately $162 million.

ActivIdentity is a provider of authentication and credential management. According to a release, the acquisition will widen the scope of HID Global's security industry leadership with incremental capabilities focused on the convergence of physical and logical access control.

However, the transaction may be held up by litigation, according to reports. An ActivIdentity investor has reportedly filed a lawsuit against members of the ActivIdentity board of directors over alleged breaches of fiduciary duties arising out of their attempt to sell ActivIdentity too cheaply.

According to the complaint the plaintiff alleges members of the ActivIdentity board breached their fiduciary duties owed to ActivIdentity investors by agreeing to sell ActivIdentity via an unfair process at an unfair price.

ActivIdentity said it does not comment on matters of pending litigation.

“ActivIdentity is an excellent strategic fit on several dimensions with HID Global's vision of trusted leadership in solutions for the delivery of secure identity,” said Denis Hébert, president and CEO of HID Global, in an Oct. 11 statement from HID. “We're excited about the tremendous talent base that will add incremental and complementary capabilities to the HID Global organization.”

ActivIdentity's revenue for the year ending September 2009 was $62 million. It is headquartered in Silicon Valley, Calif. with offices in France, UK, Germany, Sweden, Australia and Japan and employs more than 200 people.

The transaction was expected to close in December 2010 subject to regulatory clearances, approval by owners of a majority of the outstanding shares of ActivIdentity.