Galway's AmaTech has been scooped up by a French contactless tech group
The Spiddal-based company was founded in 2007.
GALWAY TECH COMPANY AmaTech, which makes security products for the payments sector, has been acquired by a French manufacturing company.
Founded in 2007, AmaTech develops radio-frequency identification (RFID) applications for the banking sector to facilitate contactless payments and limit fraud.
Publicly-listed Paragon ID manufactures electronic ID and payment products such as cards and chips embedded in ID documents. It is part of the wider Paragon Group, which also has an office in Dublin.
The company announced it was taking a “significant” majority in the Spiddal-based company, which will become a subsidiary of its new French owners. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
AmaTech’s latest accounts filed with the Companies Registration Office show that the Galway company had net assets of €2 million at the end of 2015, while it was sitting on accumulated losses of nearly €4.2 million at the time.
The Irish firm counts the State-backed Western Development Commission and Údarás na Gaeltachta among its shareholders.
The deal will help Paragon ID to bolster its presence in the banking and payments sector, but the company is also exploring use cases like wearables where RFID technology can be used.
AmaTech chief executive David Finn said he believes that RFID is a “rapidly growing and developing field”.
Future strategy
Paragon ID has identified RFID, IoT and payments as major focus areas for the company’s future, chairman John Rogers said, adding that AmaTech will “accelerate this strategy”.
AmaTech holds a number of patents that Paragon ID plans to bring to market.
According to the latest figures released, which cover July to December 2017, Paragon ID had consolidated sales of €51.6 million.
Earlier this year, it secured a £2.2 million contract to manufacture Oyster cards for Transport for London.
