Cross Match Acquires DigitalPersona and Appoints New CEO

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla., April 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Cross Match Holdings, sponsored by Francisco Partners, and DigitalPersona today announced a definitive merger agreement that will combine the two companies. With more than 300 employees, an extensive network of partners and millions of users relying on its solutions worldwide, the merged companies will have a strong global presence in the government, financial, retail, defense, law enforcement and corporate markets. Rich Agostinelli, industry veteran and current CEO of DigitalPersona, will assume the same role for the combined company, which will continue to be headquartered 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," Agostinelli said. "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," he said. "As a result, we'll be able to offer our customers a portfolio of solutions that's unparalleled in our industry."

"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."

Mike Kohlsdorf, operating partner for Francisco Partners, said the complementary technologies and geographic strengths of each company made the merger attractive for Cross Match. "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," he said. "So, the fit is highly complementary." 

"The merger also broadens our global coverage, especially in Asia and Europe," added Kohlsdorf, who served as interim CEO of Cross Match prior to the merger. "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."

About Cross Match Technologies
Cross Match Technologies, Inc. is a leading innovator and provider of biometric identity management solutions to governments, law enforcement agencies, and businesses around the world.  Offerings include multiple biometric technologies for mobile and stationary use that encompass fingerprint, palm and full-hand scanners, facial capture systems, iris scanning technology, secure document readers, biometric enrollment and matching software, and related services. For more information, visit www.crossmatch.com.

About DigitalPersona
DigitalPersona offers the world's broadest portfolio of biometrics-based identity verification solutions. Applications range from highly secure banking environments and complex government identity programs to point-of-sale retail systems. Our solutions verify the identity of more than 200 million authorized users worldwide and significantly reduce the risk of fraud, theft and unauthorized access. Offerings for end-users and system integrators include industry-specific software applications, complete SDKs and a full range of optical, silicon, touch, swipe and embedded readers. For more information, visit www.digitalpersona.com.

About Francisco Partners
Francisco Partners is a global private equity firm that specializes in investments in technology companies. Since its launch over a decade ago, FP has raised approximately $7 billion and invested in more than 100 technology companies, making it one of the most active investors in the industry. The firm invests in transaction values ranging from $50 million to over $2 billion, where the firm's deep sub-sector knowledge and operational expertise can help a company realize its full potential. For more information, visit www.franciscopartners.com.

SOURCE Cross Match Technologies