Status: Upcoming

Acquirer: Thales SA (France)

Acquired: Gemalto N.V. (Netherlands)

Value: €4.8 Billion (US$5.6 Billion)

Industry: Software; Infrastructure Software

On Dec. 17, 2017, Thales SA, a French aerospace and defense company that is partly owned by the French government, announced that it has reached an agreement “on a recommended all-cash offer for all issued and outstanding ordinary shares of Gemalto, for a price of €51 per share cum dividend.” (Thales Press Release, Thales and Gemalto Create a World Leader in Digital Security, Dec. 17, 2017; See also, Financial Times, Thales wooed Gemalto with promises to create digital unit, Dec. 18, 2017.) The French government owns 26 percent of Thales’ shares, and controls five seats on the 14-member board. (Financial Times, Thales wooed Gemalto with promises to create digital unit, Dec. 18, 2017.)  Gemalto N.V., a Dutch digital security company, “is the world’s largest maker of chips for mobile phone SIM cards,” and also provides data encryption services as well as biometric passports. (Financial Times, Thales wooed Gemalto with promises to create digital unit, Dec. 18, 2017; See also, Reuters, Thales agrees 4.8 billion euro Gemalto takeover, Atos throws in towel, Dec. 17, 2017.)  According to Patrice Caine, the CEO of Thales, “Gemalto will become the digital global business unit of Thales,” and Thales “hopes to tap Gemalto’s technological expertise in areas such as payments, ‘internet of things’ and security.” (Financial Times, Thales wooed Gemalto with promises to create digital unit, Dec. 18, 2017.)  According to the Financial Times, “[t]he acquisition, which is expected to close in the second half of 2018, must still be approved by the Committee of Foreign Investment in the United States.” (Id.)