Infocert, a subsidiary of Tinexta, has signed a strategic agreement to acquire 16,7% of Authada Gmbh, a German Digital Identity Provider active in the finance, telecommunications and betting markets.
Authada was financed by FinLab, a publicly traded venture capital firm, and Main Incubator GmbH, an early stage investor and R&D company of the Commerzbank Group.
The understanding also defines the terms of a collaboration between InfoCert and Authada, including the distribution in Germany of InfoCert's main Enterprise digital solutions and their integration with Authada's advanced eID identification solution.
“Certified by the BSI (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, i.e. the German Federal Office for Information Security), Authada's innovative APP is the only privately owned technology authorized to instantly read the data stored on credit cards German electronic identities. These cards, already used by over 90% of the population in Germany, will achieve full national coverage by the end of 2020”, explains Tinexta in a note.
Not only that, as expected Authada will carry out a capital increase in which InfoCert will participate as the main investor to reach a share of 16,7% in the form of special shares which guarantee certain pre-emption rights. Finally, InfoCert was assigned call options exercisable following the approval of the 2021 and 2022 results and which will make it possible to achieve 100% control of Authada, upon the occurrence of certain performance conditions.
An Advisory Board will be established, composed of representatives of the management of Authada, FinLab and InfoCert, who will meet periodically to review and approve all major decisions within Authada.
The CEO of Tinexta, Pier Andrea Chevallard, comments: “This strategic partnership with Authada has tremendous growth potential with significant mutual benefits over the next three years. The German market is central to our plans to expand the Digital Trust business. Furthermore, Authada's technological assets will greatly enrich Tinexta's offer and will allow commercial expansion throughout Europe”.
The CEO of InfoCert, Daniel Cattaneo, underlines: “The entry of Authada into the Tinexta Group represents another important step for the expansion of InfoCert's presence in the strategic DACH area. The transaction signed today will also allow us to offer – in all 20 countries where we are already present – a wider range of innovative technological capabilities that will further improve the security of the digital services offered. Thanks to this agreement with Authada, we further strengthen the creation of the European Champion of Digital Trust services, to manage the sensitive data of citizens, companies and institutions in full compliance with European regulations".
