INSIDE Contactless, which provide contactless secure transaction chip technologies, has entered into an agreement to purchase Atmels Secure Microcontroller Solutions (SMS) business. The transaction will be financed by the existing INSIDE investors led by Gimv and Sofinnova Partners, along with the French sovereign wealth fund, Fonds Strategique dInvestissement (FSI). Atmel also will make an investment in INSIDE.  

“Atmels Secure Microcontroller Solutions business offers INSIDE the opportunity to acquire unique people, skills and technologies to reinforce our leadership in the smart card and secure transaction devices market,” says INSIDE Contactless CEO, Remy de Tonnac. “Combining these businesses has the potential to be a game-changing event in the smart card industry. It will create a pure-play fabless semiconductor leader singularly focused on the secure transactions market.”

Tonnac says the combination will put INSIDE in a leading position to meet the growing global demand for solutions in the payments market, the emerging NFC mobile commerce market and the electronic identification market.

“The SMS (Secure Microcontroller Solutions) product portfolio and market focus is highly complementary to INSIDE Contactless current business, and this deal should be beneficial to both the SMS employees and customers,” says Atmel CEO Steven Laub.

The resulting organization will be the largest fabless semiconductor company in France, and one of the largest in Europe.