Wireless - Texas Pacific Group Invests in Gemplus

Posted: 06/2000

Texas Pacific Group Invests in Gemplus

Texas Pacific Group, an international private equity firm, will invest between $300 and $500 million in equity into Gemplus
(www.gemplus.com), a provider of smart card-based solutions and technologies.

Texas Pacific Group will join Founder and Chairman Marc Lassus, Gemplus employees and members of the Quandt Family of Germany, as one of the major shareholders of Gemplus.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

An early private equity investor in technology, Texas Pacific completed the largest U.S. technology leveraged buyout with the $1.6 billion purchase last year of the semiconductor components group of Motorola (now called ON Semiconductor).

Gemplus will use the new capital to dramatically expand Gemplus presence in the wireless communications, e-commerce and Internet security markets.

TPG’s investment is one of the largest private equity investments in the technology sector worldwide, and the largest private equity investment in Europe.