Gemalto acquires leading M2M developer

The fast-growing M2M market has allowed French-based Gemalto to spend €163 million acquiring a leading developer of M2M technology, Cinterion.

Cinterion, which was spun out of Siemens in 2008 and employs over 300 staff based in Munich and Berlin, has grown to become a dominant player in the M2M sector with around 20 per cent of the global market. The company had reported revenues of €145 million and an EBITA of €4 million in 2009.

This investment will see Gemalto, which has built its success based around SIM cards, establish a new business division--branded as M2M--that will include the combined companies' expertise in this area.

Olivier Piou, CEO of Gemalto, said, "Together with Cinterion we can address the strong interest of our largest customers, the mobile operators, in M2M and team with them to offer the M2M market the right combination of advanced software, premium devices and remote management services that has historically been successful in our SIM card business."

However, Piou added that the "net synergies would be minimal to start with and would be felt progressively."

It would seem that Gemalto will use Cinterio's knowledge to combine wireless security solutions for operators and M2M device-makers alike. One possible route could see Gemalto develop SIM-less modules, where identity and authentication are directly loaded into the module rather than kept separately on a smart card.

For more on this story:
- read Connected Planet & Total Telecom

Related stories:
Vodafone claims it has 40 percent of U.K. M2M market
Orange make play for M2M leadership
3UK partners with M2M MVNO
M2M targeted by Ericsson to boost growth