Smart Card Group's Information Gateway
[ Home : Contact Us ] - [ Daily News : Archive : Consultancy : Resources : Directory : People : Exchange : Shop ]


Welcome to Smart Card News Ltd
Daily News On Line AS

Tuesday 31st August 1999

At Last De la Rue and Oberthur Finalize Long Awaited Deal

De La Rue plc (“De La Rue”) £200 million disposal of the Card Business and proposed return of capital of not less than £100 million

As predicted by Smart Card News on the 21st of July 1999, De La Rue has conditionally agreed to dispose of the card activities of its Card Systems division (the “Card Business”) for total proceeds of £200 million (represented by cash consideration of £170 million and the purchaser assuming approximately £30 million of debt) to François-Charles Oberthur Fiduciaire of France.

Following the appointment of Ian Much as Chief Executive in September 1998, the Board of De La Rue conducted a strategic review of the Group’s activities and of the allocation of resources needed to fund the Group’s development opportunities. The Board concluded that De La Rue should concentrate on its two largest business areas, Cash Systems and Security Paper and Print, where it enjoys world leadership positions and that it should seek offers for the Card Business. The Board believes that there is limited strategic and technical overlap between the Card Business and the rest of De La Rue’s businesses and that the Card Business would be better able to capitalise on the rapid growth in its markets under different ownership.

De La Rue is convinced that the transaction it has concluded with François-Charles Oberthur Fiduciaire represents an excellent outcome for De La Rue shareholders and will further strengthen the Card Business so enabling it to serve its customers better.

De La Rue is retaining the IDS (Identity Systems) and Transaction Services businesses, which have been included within the Card Systems division but which will now form an important part of the new Services division, the creation of which was announced in June. IDS and Transaction Services had combined sales in the year ended 31 March 1999 of £21 million and operating profits of £1.6 million.

The sale of the Card Business will enable the Group to focus its management and financial resources more effectively on the retained businesses and on developing its new Services division which will provide services and customer solutions using the platforms of De La Rue’s strong name and leading products.

The Card Business is a leader in the production and personalisation of smart cards and magnetic stripe cards for applications requiring authentication, identification or security of transactions. The Card Business provides card based products and services to the banking, GSM, e-commerce, PayTV, retail, transport, loyalty, health and identity markets.

In the year ended 31 March 1999 the Card Business had sales of £140 million (of which £58.5 million was generated by the smart cards activities), profit before tax of £3.1 million and net assets as at 31 March 1999 of £61 million.

The Disposal is conditional upon the expiry or early termination of all applicable waiting periods under relevant US anti-trust legislation. The estimated net cash proceeds (after tax and expenses) of the Disposal will be £188 million. The profit on the Disposal is expected to be approximately £55 million after tax and expenses and net of goodwill of £72 million previously written off.

The Board has concluded that, following the Disposal, the Group will have more capital than it requires to fund its growth and has therefore decided that this surplus capital should be returned to shareholders. The exact amount, which will be not less than £100 million (44 pence per share), and the method of payment will be announced in due course. Completion of the Disposal is expected in October with the return of capital around the end of the year. Pending the capital repayment, the proceeds will be used to repay existing borrowings where appropriate or placed on deposit.

Based upon net debt at 31 March 1999 of £126 million, following completion and assuming a capital repayment of £100 million, De La Rue would have had pro forma net debt of £38 million as at that date.

On completion of the Disposal, Kevin Loosemore, who is Managing Director of the Card Systems division and a Board director of De La Rue, will leave the Group.

Stephen Hoffman Womersley +44 (0) 1256 605303

*

US Navy Selects Rainbow Technologies' FORTEZZA Cryptographic Devices

Rainbow Technologies, Inc. a provider of high-performance security solutions for the Internet and e-commerce has announced that the U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) System Center Charleston has chosen the Rainbow Mykotronx FORTEZZA Crypto Card as the key component for personal identification, authentication, and encryption functions in the US Department of Defense's Defense Messaging System (DMS).

During the Indefinite Delivery/ Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) five-year contract, the US Navy's SPAWAR will purchase up to 150,000 FORTEZZA Crypto Cards to secure digitally signed and encrypted messages throughout the Department of Defence.

"Secure messaging is integral to the day-to-day operations of corporations and Government," said Mr. John Linden, Head of Business Development, Intelligence and Information Warfare Department, SPAWAR. "The Rainbow Mykotronx security and token technology plans are a common enabler that combines encryption, digital certificates and other technologies to authenticate a user's identity and to ensure that data and transactions are not tampered with during transmission over the Internet. As hardware token technology continues to mature via the DOD's public-key infrastructure (PKI) road map, our focus is on integrating PKI into the overall Information Assurance Defense-in-Depth strategy. The relationship with Rainbow Mykotronx is a great opportunity for the Navy to meet these PKI standards."

With their broad array of features, Rainbow's hardware tokens serve a variety of assurance functions throughout both government and industry. Rainbow's Palladium' Secure Modem and FORTEZZA Plus cards are designed for extremely high-assurance applications, while its iKey USB tokens are geared for cost- and information-sensitive applications that require protection via a hardware token.

Over the past seven years, Rainbow has supplied over 500,000 cryptographic ASIC chips for high assurance U.S. Government applications. The MYK-8X family of chips has comprised the crypto engine for every PCMCIA-class crypto card ever produced for the DMS, with all current DMS cryptographic operations performed by Rainbow's MYK-82.

CONTACT: Paula Miller, Nadel Phelan, Inc. Tel: +1 831 439 5570 x 277 e-mail: paulam@nadelphelan.com

*

Schlumberger Goes the Distance

Schlumberger is providing the first public key (PKI) Smart Card-based network security solution for distance learning and other business and service related applications.

Schlumberger, in conjunction with the University of Illinois, is launching a pilot program designed to enable students and other authorised university personnel based either inside or outside the campus environment to securely access course materials and other University of Illinois developed applications via the Internet using PKI Smart Card-based technology.

"The Schlumberger network security solution allows the University of Illinois to expand its student population through a borderless, worldwide virtual campus," stated Gary Brinkley, director, business systems analysis for the University of Illinois office of cash management and investments.

"The University expects nearly a tenfold increase in their distance enrollment (UI On-Line) while at the same time achieving a drastic reduction in unauthorised access to valuable information and course materials by utilising this revolutionary new Smart Card system."

Brinkley noted that the Smart Card pilot is expected to expand the present all-university multi-application I-card to a much more versatile and secure card. He stated, "The innovative Schlumberger multi-application Smart Card will allow the University of Illinois to interface many existing systems with a reduction in development and production cost." Brinkley hopes to prove this as part of the pilot on their Springfield campus.

CONTACT: Emily Hall, telephone: +1 408 437 7268 email: ehall@san-jose.tt.slb.com

*

3GI in Passage to Comprehensive Smart Card Security Product

3-G International, Inc. (3GI), a US Smart Card solutions company, announces the availability of Passage Desktop version 2.0, a multiple application Smart Card solution available to corporations and other organizations that wish to strengthen PC and network security. Passage Desktop leverages Smart Card and public key technology to control individual access to PCs and networks, protect sensitive computer files and data, and secure e-mail and Web transactions. The product includes six applications based on leading-edge Smart Card and biometrics technology.

The product has been developed with a wide network of technology and market partners such as IBM, MasterCard, Microsoft, Nec, Sun and Visa. Passage Desktop is a flexible, open architecture Smart Card solution. The product works seamlessly with standard web browser and e-mail packages from Microsoft and Netscape, uses standard x.509 digital certificates from major certificate authorities such as Verisign, Entrust, and GTE Cybertrust, and supports standard encryption and network security protocols including SSL3 and SMIME.

Passage Desktop also supports a variety of public key Smart Cards including those of Gemplus, Schlumberger, and Sun Microsystems’ Java Card technology. Passage Desktop also supports all Microsoft PC/SC-compliant card readers including Bull, Gemplus, SCM Microsystems, and Schlumberger, and biometric readers from several industry leading biometrics technology firms including American Biometrics, Identicator, and Veridicom. 3GI also designed the product to support Microsoft Corporation’s Smart Card for Windows, MasterCard’s MULTOS smart card Operating System, and the Open Platform developed by Visa.

Passage Desktop provides a direct migration path to 3GI's comprehensive corporate and government campus solutions, such as Passage Enterprise or Passage Government, allowing the Smart Card to be used for a wide variety of additional functions including employee identification, physical access, electronic commerce, and property management.

Visit: 3GI's web site at www.3gi.com

*

SETEC Presents Secure Digital Signature For Mobile Communication

Setec, a Smart Card supplier in Northern Europe, has introduced a special SIM card for digital signatures in GSM wireless networks, the SetSIM 16K/RSA. The SIM contains a crypto controller and keys enabling digital signature and encryption over the air. Setec says it is the first smart card supplier to combine GSM and an RSA crypto controller on one platform.

The demand for secure electronic signature technology is growing rapidly, especially in virtual banking and e-commerce. The SetSIM 16K/RSA is independent of WAP, and is also independent of operators, card and telephone manufacturers and different GSM technologies.

Setec says this concept enables the provider to offer a reliable and non-repudiative identification service over the network. It also encrypts the contents of messages.

"To mention one group that benefits from this solution is the banking and the financial sector. To pay invoices through mobile phones is now possible. The bank can send its customer an SMS message of a due invoice and all the customer needs to do is to accept or decline the payment with a single response", says Mr Pekka Santanen, Senior Vice President, Setec’s Mobile Communications unit.

"To have a reliable and legally binding electronic signature is essential." The SetSIM 16K/RSA system makes the signature over the air, which opens huge commercial opportunities to the banking and finance sector as well as to other industries handling electronic value. It is a secure and fraud proof way to use electronic payment in our every day life. It contains highly sophisticated security solutions, which are a necessity in the banking and finance sector", says Pekka Santanen.

The SetSIM 16K/RSA’s technology is based on Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), which is supported by the world’s leading banking and finance institutions, such as Chase Manhattan, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank.

Contact: Setec Oy M. Fred Granberg, International Sales,+358 9 8941 4503 or +358 50 5560 115 e-mail: fred.granberg@setec.fi

*

LITRONIC Signs In New Reader/Writers

Litronic Inc. has released its netsignia family of Smart Card reader/writers, value engineered with added reliability and new packaging.

The netsignia product line is designed to address all levels of Smart Card deployment, and includes the 210 serial reader, the 220 plug-n-play reader, the 230 integrated reader with keyboard and the 410 PCMCIA laptop solution.

"Our netsignia generation of products is based on the market need for SmartCard security products that can be used in major deployments quickly, easily and cost effectively," said Bill Holmes, Litronic's vice president of sales and marketing. "Each reader within this product family meets unique market concerns -- addressing cost, installation and portability of security applications." Designed for mass deployment, the serial attached 210 reader/writer is low-cost and user-friendly. Its shape has been redesigned as part of the netsignia product family, adding to its ease-of-use and overall simplicity.

Optimising the reader design, the 210's cable eliminates the need for a separate power supply by powering through the keyboard's port. The 220 reader, a plug-n-play device that has received Microsoft's logo "designed for Windows NT and Windows 98," is also Windows 95 compatible and Windows 2000 ready. The hand-held 220 reader is ideal for users who require a robust security solution with installation simplicity. Like the 210, the 220 reader has a unique wedge cable design eliminating bulky transformers common in alternative readers.

Litronic's 230 reader/writer is integrated with Key Tronic's Secure Smart Card keyboard, and enables secure log-on protection while maximizing a user's keyboard desktop space. Unlike previous products, this integrated solution simplifies installation issues through unique single cable functionality and provides users with a cost effective and easy-to-use device. This solution is designed for major deployments seeking a single desktop footprint via a standard keyboard.

Visit www.litronic.com

This news is only to be distributed to persons / companies who have a contract with Smart Card News Ltd. Unless your company has gained a licence and / or written permission from Smart Card News, the contents of this news page is not to be forwarded to any other person or server. Any replication by any means without prior permission is illegal and action may be taken.

Important Information

From time to time, this news service may include industry forecasts and forward looking statements made by the companies concerned. Readers should be advised that Smart Card News Ltd cannot be held responsible for decisions and/or actions taken by readers of our news service, based on the information provided.

This news is only to be distributed to persons/companies who have a contract with Smart Card News Ltd. Unless your company has gained a licence and/or written permission from Smart Card News, the contents of this news page are not to be forwarded to any other person or server. Any replication by any means without prior permission is illegal and action may be taken.

For more detailed information please refer to our Terms and Conditions.

This Section

Daily News On Line

AS: All Subscribers

Useful Links

  © 2001 Smart Card News Ltd