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As we approach the end of yet another year – a particularly turbulent year for the world – it is an obvious time to reflect on what 2024 has meant from an M&A and investment perspective for the biometrics and identity industries and take a peek in what 2025 has in store. It’s been a very busy year for us at and we have spent a significant amount of this time involved assisting companies in M&A activities. Much of this work remains under the covers and tightly bound by NDAs but what it does do is to provide us with insight into the health of the industry. I am sharing this insight with you. 2024 has been more about consolidation then investment with a significant increase in M&A activity. A lot of this activity has been about leveraging biometric and digital identity technology to support real business needs and to reflect digital transformation strategies. In particular, supporting composable platforms with flexible workflow solutions that align with business requirements and process – meeting the need for agile digital solutions to support modern digital life. For instance, our work in the travel industry has identified the need for end-to-end passenger services that support couch-to-gate solutions that the industry demands. The ability to book and manage travel tickets from home, present, and authenticate, your travel documents before you travel, and then seamlessly navigate the airport, train station, or port using enrolled biometrics where the security risk allows it. Travel digital identity has shown other industries that portable, standard-based, high security biometric-powered digital identity can be delivered at scale. In the Goode Intelligence market analyst report, “ ” we forecast that the market will grow to with a CAGR of 22 percent. It is no surprise that suppliers of biometric and digital identity technology are aware of this opportunity and are growing their business and product portfolio through acquisition. To meet this opportunity, we have seen some notable M&A activity. Notably, ’s acquisition of , a leading supplier of biometric solutions for airports, airlines, and border control customers in . ’s acquisition of , leading IDV supplier ’s of , and then Entrust in 2024, has turned the North American security company into a real contender for delivering biometric digital identity to the travel industry, albeit at a significant cost to the privately controlled group. It has been no secret that Advent International has been looking to break up and sell ’s business units and in September 2024 Idemia announced that French-based identity specialist had begun to acquire the Smart Identity business unit to enable them to expand their capabilities, on both a product and a regional-reach basis. Like Entrust, IN Groupe has been busy with M&A and also announced 2024 the acquisition of Denmark’s digital identity service, MitID. Not only is this a recurring business line for In Groupe but also a great opportunity for knowledge transfer, to exchange capabilities from MitID to other business lines within the IN Groupe. This could be a very timely acquisition in the context of a ramp up of activity in digital identity within the EU with its digital identity initiatives including the EU Digital Identity Wallet and eIDAS 2. Through acquisition, IN Groupe is quickly becoming a major player in the European identity sector and potentially beyond. There is no doubt that we are well down the path to migrating government-issued physical identity documents to digital identity solutions. This journey will include both physical identity documents and digital identity solutions coexisting. Identity suppliers, especially in the government sector, need to be able to operate in both the physical and digital worlds, including the support of hybrid models where physical identity document and digital identity issuance and management coexist. This strategy is being adopted by the major suppliers of government identity and is exemplified by many of the M&A examples that I have discussed in this article including ’s acquisition of ’s Citizen Identity division 2024. HID’s Citizen Identity division was itself acquired from UK-based in 2019. I worked for De La Rue at the turn of this century, as head of digital identity, with a brief of bringing the 200-year-old company into the 21st century with digital identity solutions to complement their document identity solutions. It was probably an exercise that was a little bit , pre-dating the availability of the modern mobile phone. It did provide me with much of the real-world experience that is so invaluable to my role as an analyst and futurist today. Companies are scaling their portfolio with acquisition to reflect the hybrid nature of government issued identity, supporting both traditional document-based identity with digital identity. Expect more of the same in 2025. Identity Verification (IDV) has been an amazing success story for supporting digital onboarding with double-digit year-on-year growth for suppliers in the market. Its success, and the desire to own IP, has meant that security and fraud management platform owners are looking to own this critical piece of technology. In addition to Onfido’s acquisition by Entrust we also have (LNRS) acquiring another leading IDV provider, , a provider of AI-powered automated document authentication and fraud detection solutions. The acquisition was announced recently 2024 and comes off the back of the company acquiring behavioral biometrics specialist, BehavioSec in 2022. For 2025, I predict further consolidation and also an uptick in investment – something that has seen relatively low activity in the last two years as a result of the credit crunch. Businesses are definitely seeing the benefit of embedding biometric technology to support the customer / citizen journey and this will reflect in more M&A activity in 2025 to support biometric-powered digital platforms across all major sectors. I also expect greater interest and activity in coupling biometrics with digital wallets. All eyes are on the EU and its digital identity wallet. What happens in 2025 in the EU will have significant impact in digital wallets around the world. Biometrics is seen as a critical enabler of Verifiable Credentials (VCs) and if the industry can resolve some of its chicken and egg conundrums, then expect plenty of investment and M&A activity here. I am excited to see what 2025 brings us and expect a busy year for Goode Intelligence and . Alan Goode is CEO and Chief Analyst at . Reach out via to discuss this article. | | | | | | | | | | |
LPG Shipping Sector: Monday, December 2, 2024, at 10:00 AM ET Containers Shipping Sector: Tuesday, December 3, 2024, at 10:00 AM ET Product Tankers Sector: Thursday, December 5, 2024, at 9:00 AM ET Dry Bulk Shipping Sector: Wednesday, December 11, 2024, at 11:00 AM ET Crude Tankers Shipping Sector: Thursday, December 12, 2024, at 10:00 AM ET LNG Shipping Sector: Tuesday, December 17, 2024, at 10:00 AM ET NEW YORK, Nov. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capital Link invites you to join its December 2024 Shipping Sectors Webinar Series , featuring senior executives from leading publicly listed companies across the LNG, LPG, Dry Bulk, Crude Oil, and Product Tanker sectors. These live discussions will explore the latest trends, developments, and outlook each focusing on a specific sector. Moderated by analysts, each 45-minute webinar will include live Q&A sessions, offering attendees the opportunity to engage directly with company executives. Replays will be available on demand after each session. Participants can submit sector-oriented questions during the live session through the webinar platform, or email their questions to webinars@capitallink.com . PARTICIPATION Attendance is complimentary. Sign up to attend one or more sessions here . An email confirmation with session-specific access links will be sent upon registration. Submit Questions: Participants can ask questions live through the Zoom platform or email them in advance to webinars@capitallink.com . 1-on-1 Meetings: Institutional investors can request private meetings with company management by contacting meetings@capitallink.com . SHIPPING SECTORS WEBINARS SCHEDULE LPG SHIPPING SECTOR Monday, December 2, 2024, at 10:00 AM ET Moderator: Mr. Fredrik Dybwad , Senior Shipping Analyst - Fearnley Securities Panelists: Mr. Kristian Sorensen , CEO - BW LPG Ltd. BWLP Mr. Theodore (Ted) Young , CFO - Dorian LPG Ltd. LPG Mr. Mads Peter Zacho , CEO - Navigator Gas NVGS CONTAINERS SECTOR PANEL Tuesday, December 3, 2024 | 10:00 AM ET Moderator: Mr. Muneeba Kayani , Managing Director, Head of Europe Transport, Global Research - Bank of America Global Research Panelists: Mr. Evangelos Chatzis , CFO - Danaos Corporation DAC Mr. Aristides Pittas , Chairman & CEO - Euroseas Ltd. ESEA Mr. Thomas Lister , CEO - Global Ship Lease, Inc. GSL Mr. Moritz Fuhrmann , Co-CEO & CFO - MPC Container Ships ASA PRODUCT TANKER SECTOR Thursday, December 5, 2024, at 9:00 AM ET Moderator: Mr. Jorgen Lian , Head of Shipping Equity Research - DNB Markets Panelists: Mr. Carlos Balestra di Mottola , CEO - d'Amico International Shipping S.A. DMCOF Mr. Mikael Skov , CEO - Hafnia Ltd. HAFN Ms. Lois K. Zabrocky , CEO - International Seaways Inc. INSW Mr. Robert Bugbee , President - Scorpio Tankers Inc. STNG DRY BULK SHIPPING SECTOR PANEL Wednesday, December 11, 2024, at 11:00 AM ET Moderator: Mr. Gregory Lewis , Head of Maritime Research – BTIG Panelists: Mr. Aristides Pittas , Chairman & CEO - EuroDry Ltd. Mr. Peder Simonsen , Interim CEO & CFO - Golden Ocean Group Ltd. Dr. Loukas Barmparis , President - Safe Bulkers, Inc. Mr. Stamatis Tsantanis , Chairman & CEO - Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp., Founder, Chairman & CEO - United Maritime Corporation Mr. Hamish Norton , President - Star Bulk Carriers Corp. CRUDE TANKERS SECTOR PANEL Thursday, December 12, 2024 | 10:00 AM ET Moderator: Mr. Nils Thommesen , Deputy Head of Research - Fearnley Securities Panelists: Mr. Svein Moxnes Harfjeld , President & CEO - DHT Holdings, Inc. Mr. Aristidis Alafouzos , CEO - Okeanis ECO Tankers Corp. Dr. Nikolas P. Tsakos , Founder & CEO - TEN Ltd. Mr. Kenneth Hvid , President and CEO - Teekay Tankers Ltd. LNG SECTOR PANEL Thursday, December 17, 2024 | 9:00 AM ET Moderator: Mr. Liam Burke , Managing Director - B.Riley Securities Panelists: Mr. Jerry Kalogiratos , CEO - Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. Mr. Oystein Kalleklev , CEO - FLEX LNG Ltd. FOR MORE INFORMATION Please visit https://webinars.capitallink.com/2024/shipping/ Or, contact webinars@capitallink.com ORGANIZER – CAPITAL LINK, INC. - DISCLAIMER Capital Link's webinars, podcasts, articles, and presentations may contain "forward-looking statements." Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "may," "will," "should" and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. 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It was cofounder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel who first introduced his mentee, JD Vance, to President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 2021. Three years later—with Trump and Vance just weeks from the White House—it’s Thiel who is sitting pretty as many people within his network head for official or advisory positions in the next administration. David Sacks—who worked with Thiel at PayPal and wrote for the , the student newspaper Thiel founded as an undergraduate at Stanford University in 1987—was as the White House’s incoming “AI and Crypto Czar” on Wednesday. Jim O’Neill, former CEO of Thiel’s personal foundation, has been picked as deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Elon Musk, whose financial and vocal support helped elect Trump, will be running the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or “DOGE.” Musk had worked closely with Thiel at PayPal; and Thiel’s venture fund, Founders Fund, was an early investor in several of Musk’s companies, including space cargo business , tunneling firm Boring Company, and brain chip startup Neuralink. Trae Stephens, a general partner at Founders Fund, is reportedly being considered for deputy secretary of defense, according to the . And Michael Kratsios, Thiel Capital’s former chief of staff and a director at Founders Fund-backed Scale AI, is handling tech policy during the Trump transition. Then, of course, there is Vance, who worked for Thiel at one of his funds, Mithril Capital, then launched a venture fund that Thiel backed. Founders Fund still lists Vance’s venture firm, Narya Capital, as an “affiliate” on regulatory filings. All of these individuals, including the vice president-elect, sit within one of the powerful Silicon Valley networks that have one man in the middle: Thiel. There’s the PayPal Mafia, the group of early employees of the digital payments company that includes Thiel and Musk. There’s the conservative student paper, the . There’s Founders Fund, the $12 billion venture capital firm that has invested in the major startups working most closely with the U.S. Department of Defense—SpaceX, Palantir, and Anduril. And then there’s also Thiel’s personal endeavors, like his family office, foundation, or other funds. Trump pulled people from these same networks during his first presidency, when Thiel was the sole voice of Trump support in Silicon Valley—donating more than $1 million and speaking at the National Republican Convention in 2016. During that first administration, Trump selected Ken Howery, a and PayPal alum, as the U.S. ambassador to Sweden (Howery was also at Mar-a-Lago during the 2024 election night). Trump also appointed Kratsios, Thiel Capital’s former chief of staff, as the White House’s deputy chief technology officer. And Mark Woolway, who was an early employee at PayPal and now works at Sacks’ Craft Ventures, was on Trump’s transition team for the Treasury Department in 2016. While Thiel still describes himself as pro-Trump, he’s taken a step back compared to previous election cycles. By the time of the 2024 election, Thiel had made a not to donate to any campaign, which he told was because he was no longer convinced money mattered at the federal level and hadn't been persuaded that this election would focus on "ending our decades-long technological and economic stagnation." But While Thiel is no longer a financial supporter, his closeness to those who will soon wield power and influence, including the vice president, will carry—and his longtime investments in companies that work closely with the U.S. government are likely to benefit. Thiel's politics are complicated and have evolved—and it's difficult to place him in a particular bucket, though he's been described as a conservative libertarian, and is also known for having . He is a backer of crypto and crypto companies and has warned against government regulation, particularly in the field of AI. Thiel seems to already be thinking ahead. In an with founder Bari Weiss shortly after the election, Thiel gave advice about what Vice President-elect Vance could do to be elected president in 2028, after Trump's term ends. This story was originally featured onGeorgia QB Carson Beck knocked out by hand injury in SEC championship game against Texas
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