Identive Group To Acquire Smartag (INVE)

Inventive Group

, a provider of products, services and solutions for the security, identification and RFID industries, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with the France-based Group FCI SA to acquire FCI's Smartag subsidiary, a Singapore-based manufacturer of RFID inlays and inlay applications, as well as an associated portfolio of RFID and related patents and other intellectual property. The transaction is expected to close during November 2010. "Smartag is a perfect fit for Identive; it complements our European-based transponders and components business with similar capabilities in Singapore, opening up new opportunities and channels in the Asia Pacific market while adding needed manufacturing capacity to our group," said Ayman S. Ashour, chairman and chief executive officer of Identive Group. "Having two manufacturing sites in different key markets gives us additional flexibility and the increased capacity will also help fuel our growth in emerging technologies such as RFID-based cashless payments, where our solutions are experiencing rapid growth."