France’s Safran to buy US biometrics and security firm L-1 Identity Solutions for $1.1 bln

Safran to buy US biometrics firm for $1.1 bln

PARIS — French defense contractor Safran SA said Monday it will pay $1.1 billion to buy Stamford, Connecticut-based security firm L-1 Identity Solutions Inc. to bolster its presence in the U.S. homeland security market.

Paris-based Safran said the combination of L-1’s biometric and enterprise access businesses with its existing U.S. security business, Morpho, will have joint sales of about €1.4 billion ($1.8 billion), with U.S. sales accounting for almost half of that.

Safran is to offer $12 a share in cash for L-1, whose stock is listed on the New York Stock exchange. The acquisition will help Safran increase its security business’ share of total revenue to 20 percent. Safran, which is owned 30 percent by the French government, also builds jet engines for both military and commercial aircraft as well as defense equipment such as navigation systems and drones.

L-1 is separately selling its intelligence services business to British defense contractor BAE Systems for $296 million, BAE said earlier Monday.

BAE says the group is a provider of security and counter-threat capabilities to the U.S. government.

Both deals are subject to approval by U.S. regulators.