Gemalto announced that it has acquired a controlling interest in Plastikkart Akilli Kart Iletisim Sistemleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (Plastkart), a regional leader in personalization services and smart card production based in Turkey.

 

Plastkart is a public company, listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (symbol: PKART). Gemalto will now apply to the Turkish Capital Market Board (CMB) in order to fulfill its obligation to make a public offer for the remainder of the shares that it does not already own. The Information Sheet describing the terms of the offer will be available within 45 days, after review and approval by the CMB.

 

Gemalto has been Plastkart’s long term technology partner, since 2003. Going forward, the companies will continue to co-operate as in the past, with Plastkart focusing on the fast growing Turkish market of 75 million inhabitants. Turkish banks are already deploying dual-interface contactless cards in large volumes.

Commenting on the transaction, Olivier Piou, CEO of Gemalto, stated, "The Turkish digital security market is highly innovative. It was an early adopter of contactless payment, NFC and mobile digital identity for example. Plastkart has built a reputation for quality and service in the Turkish market, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Plastkart team in the future."

 

Ali Yildiz, CEO of Plastkart, added, "Gemalto has supported our development over the past decade. As our industry shifts towards software and services, it was important that Plastkart aligns itself strategically with the best technology partner, and we are really happy to be able to do so today."