Chennai-based financial technology company Polaris Software Lab Ltd. has entered the cloud computing space by acquiring an 85.3% stake in IdenTrust Inc., a U.S.-based services provider offering digital authentication services to banks, for an undisclosed sum.
IdenTrust was started in 1999 with 20 banks including Citigroup, Bank of America, Chase, Barclays, HSBC, and Deutsche as shareholders. It will now have Zions Bancorporation, a U.S. bank, as a minority shareholder.
“With increasing dependency on the internet, security solutions that incorporate identity management are a key element in any cloud offering,” said Polaris Chairman and Chief Executive Arun Jain in a statement to the press. The company said this is a step toward its goal of becoming a one-stop shop for all financial technology needs.
With the transaction, Polaris gets 10 new clients in the banking industry, a portfolio of patents, the associated intellectual property and expertise around identity, authentication, encryption, electronic signatures on a global basis, besides the management team.
“Digital security is key for next generation banking, and IdenTrust's existing products such as Trust SignTM in the certificate space and Trust PrimeTM in the eBAM space are supported by a globally interoperable legal and technology framework to deliver the highest levels of security on a cloud,” Polaris said.
The transaction gives Polaris an immediate capability on identity solutions, said Subhashini Gurumurthy, an analyst with Ambit Capital Pvt. Ltd.
“This space is gaining increasing importance given the security issues which are becoming more of a concern,” she said. The deal could also help Polaris cross-sell current services and internet products to large banks, she added.
Source: WSJ