printer friendly version

SCM merges with Hirsch

SCM Microsystems has announced it has closed its merger with Hirsch Electronics. The shareholders of both companies approved the transaction, which included the payment of cash and the issuance of SCM common stock and warrants to purchase shares of SCM common stock in exchange for the securities of Hirsch.

The merger closed on 30 April, 2009, and Hirsch is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of SCM. Each company’s products and services will continue to be marketed, sold and supported using their existing brand names.

“We see this merger as the completion of another milestone in the successful business relationship that SCM and Hirsch have been building together,” said Felix Marx, chief executive officer of SCM Microsystems. “We decided to combine two industry leaders into a single powerhouse because we see the market developing in the same way, we focus on serving our customers in the same way, and we already know how to work together.”

Acquiring Hirsch, a physical access solution provider and re-seller of SCM’s physical access readers, nearly doubles the size of SCM. SCM is a global provider of readers that enable people to access PCs and networks with smartcards containing authentication data and other information. This is known in the industry as logical access. Hirsch was a pioneer of the access control market and is now a top player in what is known as physical access – secure entry to buildings, campuses, military installations and other facilities.

The success of SCM’s strategy is also becoming evident in public-sector authentication schemes. The company is already producing and shipping specially designed products for Germany’s national e-health initiative, which will give doctors and patients fast, reliable and even mobile access to secure health information. Similar national programmes are in development or implementation around the world. In the US, Hirsch has included SCM products in its solutions for large-scale authentication projects involving the military and government agencies.

The merger of the two organisations is expected to require little integration because their existing operations are highly complementary, with little overlap. “For a variety of very practical reasons, we believe this combination has a high chance of success,” Marx noted. “We have already begun to execute on the opportunity internally, and are excited to be able to do even more for our customers than ever before.”

Share this article:

Further reading: