Thales seeks clearance to acquire data security company Gemalto
The Commerce Commission has received a clearance application from Thales S.A. (Thales) to acquire Gemalto N.V.
(Gemalto).
Thales, which is based in France, supplies electronics and communications equipment for a number of different industries
including the aeronautics, space, ground transportation, defence and security industries. In particular, Thales’
e-Security division supplies data encryption hardware and software, which is designed to protect and secure electronic
data. In New Zealand, Thales’ encryption products are typically supplied via resellers under the brand names nShield,
payShield and Vormetric.
Gemalto, which is based in the Netherlands, is a specialised data security company which also supplies data encryption
hardware and software. In New Zealand, Gemalto supplies its products through resellers under the brand name SafeNet.
A public version of the application is available on our Clearances Register.
Background
We will give clearance to a proposed merger if we are satisfied that the merger is unlikely to have the effect of
substantially lessening competition in a market.
A fact sheet explaining how the Commission assesses a merger application is available on the clearances page.