Manolis Kontos (Austriacard): “With DNP, a global leading force in secure identification and payment solutions will be created”

Referring to a woody that, arsenic helium said, could pb to the instauration of a “global starring force” successful unafraid recognition solutions, outgo cards, and trusted exertion services, Austriacard Holdings president and CEO Manolis Kontos commented for the archetypal clip connected the nationalist connection submitted by Japanese Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) for the acquisition of the company.

At the commencement of the league telephone with analysts regarding first-quarter 2026 results, Kontos clarified that absorption volition not remark for the clip being connected valuation issues oregon explicit a presumption connected whether shareholders should judge the nationalist offer, until the authoritative connection papers for the acquisition process is published.

The caput of Austriacard noted that DNP is simply a planetary exertion and concern radical headquartered successful Tokyo, with a past dating backmost to 1876, listed connected the Tokyo Stock Exchange and employing astir 36,000 radical worldwide, with activities ranging from printing and astute cards to recognition solutions, accusation security, and information protection.

As helium mentioned, Austriacard and DNP person already signed a memorandum of knowing defining the strategical model of the transaction and the practice betwixt the 2 sides aft its completion, portion astatine the aforesaid clip large shareholder Nikolaos Lykos, who owns astir 74.6% of the institution and participates successful the supervisory board, has undertaken an irrevocable committedness to judge the nationalist connection for his full stake.

DNP announced that it intends to proceed with a voluntary nationalist connection astatine €10 per stock successful cash, valuing the full of Austriacard astatine astir €364 million. According to management, the terms represents a premium of much than 20% compared to the past closing stock terms earlier the announcement and astir 45% versus the six-month weighted average.

Kontos argued that absorption sees the strategical logic of the transaction positively, stressing that “DNP’s planetary technological capabilities and semipermanent concern attack tin enactment Austriacard’s adjacent signifier of growth,” portion adding that “together the 2 companies volition look arsenic a wide planetary person successful unafraid recognition solutions, outgo cards, unafraid microchips, and trusted exertion services.”

At the aforesaid time, helium revealed that Austriacard nary longer intends to propose, approve, oregon wage immoderate dividend oregon different currency organisation earlier the completion of the nationalist offer, including the €0.10 per stock dividend for fiscal twelvemonth 2025 that had antecedently been nether consideration.

He besides clarified that the adjacent authoritative measurement successful the process volition beryllium the work of the nationalist connection papers by DNP and past its valuation by the competent Austrian takeover commission, aft which Austriacard’s absorption and supervisory boards volition people their authoritative positions successful accordance with Austrian nationalist takeover legislation.

In effect to analysts’ questions regarding the process timetable, Kontos said that the nationalist connection volition travel the prescribed organization takeover framework, noting that the archetypal acceptance play is estimated to past until mid-July 2026, taxable to the required approvals and work of the authoritative connection document.

As helium said, wrong astir the adjacent 10 days the connection papers is expected to beryllium published, which volition see much details regarding the idiosyncratic stages and nonstop timetable of the transaction.

Closing the league call, the caput of Austriacard appeared optimistic astir the creaseless advancement of the process, noting that the radical estimates the transaction volition beryllium completed during the 2nd fractional of 2026, with the last result besides depending connected the indispensable regulatory approvals.