InfoCert acquired 51% of the Spanish AC Camerfirma S.A.
Tecnoinvestimenti Group Realizes First Acquisition Abroad in Pursuit of International Leadership in Digital Trust: InfoCert & the Spanish Chambers of Commerce to collaborate to expand the Digital Trust business in Spain and South America.
The acquisition of a majority stake in Camerfirma is the first strategic step in the creation of a pan-European QTSP (Qualified Trust Service Provider)
Rome, Madrid. 3 May 2018 – Tecnoinvestimenti Group, through its subsidiary InfoCert S.p.A. (InfoCert), the largest Certification Authority in Europe, announces to have successfully completed the acquisition -by means of the subscription of new shares- of a majority stake in AC Camerfirma SA (Camerfirma), one of the leading Spanish Certification Authorities.
InfoCert, based in Rome, is the Italian leader in Digital Trust services and is pursuing an ambitious goal to create a Pan-European Trust Service Provider through organic growth, M&A and partnerships. In such context, Camerfirma has been selected as the ideal partner to develop the Iberian and Latin America markets.
Enrico Salza, Chairman of Tecnoinvestimenti, stated, “The Camerfirma transaction is Tecnoinvestimenti’s twelfth deal since the Group was established in 2009 and the first outside Italy of significant strategic importance for our very dynamic Group that is now also aiming to consolidate its international leadership in Digital Trust.”
Danilo Cattaneo, InfoCert CEO commented: “The operation fits perfectly into InfoCert’s international growth roadmap, aimed at creating the leading provider of Trust Services in Europe. We are happy to join forces with Camerfirma and the Spanish Chambers of Commerce and have already started working together on the further development of our ambitious goals. I am confident that current and potential new clients of Camerfirma and InfoCert will derive significant benefits from this operation.”
Alfonso Carcasona, Camerfirma MD, commented: “We are very happy to participate in the creation of the largest European Trust Service Provider, which fulfills the Chambers’ of Commerce mission of joining forces to drive the growth of Digital Trust services in Spain and Europe.”
Business of Camerfirma
Camerfirma is located in Madrid, with a solid presence in the Spanish market as well as some commercial initiatives in South America. Owned by the Spanish Chambers of Commerce, the company was founded in 2000. Camerfirma’s customer base includes private companies and the Spanish public administration.
Camerfirma was established as Certification Service Provider under Spanish Law 59/2003 of 19 December regarding Electronic Signatures and Identity Certificates that allows companies and their employees to sign electronically documents with full technical security and legal validity.
Camerfirma reported Euro 3.3 million in revenues and an EBITDA of Euro 0.5 million in 2017. At 31 March 2018 the net cash position amounts to Euro 0.3 million.
The Transaction
InfoCert has acquired 51% of Camerfirma by underwriting a capital increase of Euro 3.1 million. InfoCert will fund the acquisition by utilizing internal resources.
The operation will allow InfoCert to boost its international growth strategy through:
- The creation of a multi-national Trust Service Provider with solid institutional roots and a clear focus on EU markets and regulatory compliance;
- The integration of respective offering and capabilities for a more effective market coverage, thereby expanding both companies’ portfolio of services and delivery capabilities to better address their respective markets;
- The exploitation of synergies in infrastructure, operations, investments, innovation and new product/solution development.
Tecnoinvestimenti SpA
The Tecnoinvestimenti Group reported the following Consolidated results for 2017: Revenues of Euro 181.0 million, EBITDA of Euro 40.6 million and Net profit of Euro 20.3 million. The Group, listed on the STAR segment of the Milan Stock Exchange, is one of Italy’s top operators in its three areas of business: Digital Trust, Credit Information & Management and Innovation & Marketing Services. The Digital Trust Business Unit, through the companies InfoCert, Visura and Sixtema, provides products and services for digitalisation, electronic billing, certified e-mail and digital signature, as well as services for professionals, associations and SMEs. InfoCert is also the biggest European Certification Authority. The Credit Information & Management Business Unit, which includes Assicom Ribes, offers decision-making support services such as Chamber of Commerce and real estate information, aggregate reports, summary ratings, decision-making models, and credit assessment and collection services. REValuta offers real estate services, including appraisals and valuations. The Innovation & Marketing Services Business Unit, through the companies Co.Mark and Warrant Group, offers a platform of advisory services to SMEs, to support them through the phases of growth in production and expansion of their commercial capacity. At 31 December 2017 the employees of the Group totalled 1,187.
InfoCert SpA
InfoCert is the largest Certification Authority in Europe, active in over twenty countries. InfoCert provides digitalization services like eDelivery, eSignature, eSeal and digital preservation of digital documents. InfoCert is also an accredited provider of the SPID (Public System for the management of Digital Identity) identity in Italy. InfoCert invests significantly in quality and in R&D. The Company holds a significant number of patents while the ISO 9001, 27001 and 20000 quality certifications testify its commitment to the highest levels in the provision of services and in the management of security. InfoCert Information Security Management System is ISO / IEC 27001: 2013 certified for EA activities: 33-35. InfoCert is a Digital Trust Service Provider fully compliant with the requirements of the eIDAS Regulation (EU Regulation 910/2014) and ETSI EN 319 401 standards. InfoCert owns 80% of the shares of Sixtema SpA, the CNA technology partner, which provides technological solutions and consulting services to SMEs, trade associations, financial intermediaries, professional firms and institutions.
AC Camerfirma SA
Camerfirma, incorporated in 2000 by the Chamber of Commerce of Spain, is an eIDAS qualified Certification Authority, with the participation of 72 Spanish Chambers of Commerce. The company is part of ChamberSign, a European organization that authenticates digital certificates in Europe. Camerfirma’s mission is to offer its customers the possibility of using digital certification as a working instrument for the interaction with other companies and public administration bodies.
For more information:
| InfoCert |
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Ufficio Stampa InfoCert BMP Comunicazione per InfoCert team.infocert@bmpcomunicazione.it Pietro Barrile +39 320 7008732 Michela Mantegazza +39 328 1225838 Francesco Petrella +39 345 2731667 Media Room InfoCert: https://infocert.digital/category/comunicati-stampa/ http://www.infocert.it Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin |
| Tinexta S.p.A. | ||
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