Galway electronics manufacturer Aontec has been acquired by Germany's Assa Abloy ITG in a deal that is believed to be worth over €40 million.
Aontec, which produces pages for electronic passports, had turnover of €12 million last year. Recent acquisitions in the technology sector have valued companies at between three to five times revenues suggesting Aontec will have been sold for over €40 million. Accounts filed with the Companies Registration Office last month showed a €4.2 million improvement in its profit and loss account for the year to the end of December, 2006. Its cash and bank position also improved from €11,851 to €1.8 million.
Aontec managing director Seamus O'Keeffe declined to comment on the value of the all-cash deal citing confidentiality clauses but said he was "happy with the outcome".
The company employs 148 staff at two sites in Baile na hAbhann in the Galway Gaeltacht.
It supplies blank pages of electronic passports which are embedded with a radio identification chip based on the RFID standard.
Mr O'Keeffe said the company has developed proprietary technology which enables it to insert a chip and antenna into plastic sheets of paper. These sheets are then supplied to specialist print companies who print passports on behalf of national governments. Demand for electronic passports is being driven by the EU Digital Passport project and a US requirement that nations availing of the Visa Waiver Program issue electronic travel documents.
Assa Abloy ITG estimates that there are 800 million passports in circulation worldwide, and the annual replacement rate will eventually rise to about 100 million as e-passports become mandatory. Mr O'Keeffe and fellow director Brendan Morley are the main beneficiaries of the deal.
Aontec was founded in 1997 as the Irish subsidiary of German firm Amatech. When the parent company went bankrupt in 2002 Mr O'Keeffe and Mr Morley financed a buy-out of the Irish assets. ITG has over 900 employees and 25 sales offices worldwide and a number of subsidiaries all of which provide technology and services around RFID chips. The group is headquartered in Walluf, Germany.
