InfoCert, a subsidiary of the Tinexta Group, acquires a 16.7 percent stake in Authada. The agreement defines the terms of the commercial collaboration and the technical strategies that InfoCert and Authada will implement. These include the expansion of InfoCert's presence in the strategic DACH sector, the joint project to create a European Champion of Digital Trust Services, and options to enable InfoCert to acquire 100% of Authada under certain conditions.

Rome, Italy / Darmstadt, Germany, September 22^nd, 2020 - Authada GmbH, a portfolio company of Frankfurt-based FinLab AG (ISIN: DE0001218063; Ticker: A7A.GR), and Tinexta SpA. today announce the signing of a strategic agreement between Tinexta's subsidiary InfoCert, the largest European Certification Authority, and Authada GmbH, a German Digital Identity Provider with cutting edge technology, based in Darmstadt, Germany.

Authada is active in the financial, telecommunications and sports betting markets - with well-known customers such as Vodafone, Comdirect (Commerzbank Group) and Sparkassenfinanzgruppe - and is currently expanding into the insurance, eCommerce and eHealth sectors. Authada was previously financed by FinLab AG, a listed investment company, and Main Incubator GmbH, early-stage investor and research and development unit of the Commerzbank Group.

The agreement signed defines the terms of a strategic collaboration between InfoCert and Authada, including the localization of InfoCert's leading Digital Enterprise Solutions for the German Market and their integration with Authada's advanced eID identification solution.

Certified by the BSI (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, the German Federal Office for Information Security), the advanced Authada APP is the only privately-owned technology permitted to instantaneously read data stored on German electronic identity cards. Such cards, already used by over 90% of the population in Germany, will arrive at complete national coverage by the end of 2020.

Tinexta's CEO, Pier Andrea Chevallard commented: "This strategic partnership with Authada has exceptional potential to expand to significant mutual benefit over the next three years. The German market is central to our plans to expand our Digital Trust business. Moreover, the technological assets of Authada will greatly enrich Tinexta's offer and enable cross European commercial expansion."

Infocert's CEO, Danilo Cattaneo highlighted: "The entry of Authada into Tinexta Group represents another important expansion of InfoCert's footprint into the strategic DACH area. The operation signed today will also allow us to offer, anywhere in the 20 countries where we are present, a wider set of innovative technological capabilities that will further enhance digital service security for citizens, companies and institutions. This transaction with Authada allows us to advance the creation of an European Champion of Digital Trust Services, to manage sensitive data of citizens, companies and institutions in full compliance with European regulations."

Authada's CEO and Co-Founder, Andreas Plies said: "We are pleased about the partnership with InfoCert and the resulting strategic benefits. It allows us to combine the highly innovative and technologically leading solutions of both companies and thus create a unique service offering for the national and international markets."

FinLab's Board Member Stefan Schütze said: "As the first institutional investor in and supporter of Authada, we are very pleased to welcome on board InfoCert and Tinexta Group to Authada as strategic partner. It's a perfect match and not only InfoCert and Authada will benefit greatly from this cooperation, but also their customers!"

The strategic agreement foresees the following:

• Authada's current shareholders have committed to undertaking a capital increase;
• InfoCert is participating as lead investor in this capital increase and has paid a modest seven-figure consideration in exchange for a 16.67% participation in the form of special shares that guarantee certain preferential rights;
• Finally, InfoCert has been granted call options that may be exercised following the approval of 2021 and 2022 results that will permit to arrive at 100% control of Authada, given certain conditions.

An Advisory Board will be constituted, which will be made up of representatives of Authada management, FinLab and InfoCert, that will meet periodically to review and approve all major decisions within Authada.

About AUTHADA GmbH:
Authada is a cybersecurity company based in Darmstadt, Germany. The identification solutions of AUTHADA are based on the eID functionality of the German electronic identity card and the electronic residence permit. Using an NFC-capable smartphone, persons are identified within seconds remotely or on site. Legally secure based on German and EU legislation, as well as technically secure due to the certification by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). With its eID services, AUTHADA thus offers a leading technology that is already being used by well-known customers. Since March 2020, AUTHADA is also a certified identification service provider, which allows digital identification in all markets. In addition, AUTHADA is an ISO/IEC 27001 certified company. This international standard for information security ensures that AUTHADA complies with extensive information security requirements and implements comprehensive measures for data protection.

Press contact:
AUTHADA GmbH
Ruth Wölfinger
Julius-Reiber-Straße 15 a
64293 Darmstadt
presse@authada.de
Telefon: +49 6151 2752 500
www.authada.de
 

About TINEXTA SpA:
Tinexta, listed on the STAR segment of the Milan Stock Exchange, reported the following Consolidated results as of 31 December 2019: Revenues of € 258.7 million, EBITDA equal to € 71.3 million and Net Profit of € 28.8 million. Tinexta Group is one of the leading operators in Italy in the three business areas: Digital Trust, Credit Information & Management and Innovation & Marketing Services. The Digital Trust Business Unit provides, through the companies InfoCert, Visura, Sixtema and the Spanish company Camerfirma, products and solutions for digitization: digital signature, digital identity, customer onboarding, e-mail invoicing and certified e-mail (PEC) for large companies, banks, insurance and finance companies, SMEs, associations and professionals. InfoCert is the largest Certification Authority in Europe and purchased in 2018 a 50% stake in LuxTrust, a strategic joint venture for the development of digital trust activities in Europe. In the Credit Information & Management Business Unit, Innolva and its subsidiaries offer services to support decision-making (Chamber of Commerce and real estate information. aggregated reports. synthetic ratings. decision models. credit assessment and credit recovery), while ReValuta offers real estate services (appraisals and valuations). In the Innovation & Marketing Services Business Unit, Warrant Hub is a leader in consulting in subsidized finance and industrial innovation and Co.Mark provides Temporary Export Management advice to SMEs to support them in commercial expansion. As of 31 December 2019, the Group's staff amounted to 1,293 employees.

Press contact:
Corporate & Financial Communications
Lawrence Y. Kay
lawrence.kay@tinexta.com
Carla Piro Mander
Tel. +39 06 42 01 26 31
carla.piro@tinexta.com
 

About InfoCert SpA:
InfoCert, Tinexta Group, is the largest European Certification Authority, active in over twenty countries. The company provides services of digitization, eDelivery, Digital Signature and digital storage of documents and is an accredited AgID manager of digital identity in the context of SPID (Public System for the management of Digital Identity). InfoCert invests significantly in research and development and quality: it holds a significant number of patents while the ISO 9001, 27001 and 20000 quality certifications testify to its commitment to the highest levels of service delivery and security management. The InfoCert Information Security Management System is ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certified for EA:33-35 activities. InfoCert is a European leader in the offer of Digital Trust services that fully comply with the requirements of the eIDAS Regulation (EU Regulation 910/2014) and ETSI EN 319 401 standards, and aims to increasingly expand internationally, also through acquisitions. Since 2018, it has held 51% of Camerfirma, one of Spain's leading certification authorities, and 50% of LuxTrust, the leading Digital Trust company in Luxembourg. Finally, InfoCert owns 80% of the shares of Sixtema SpA, the technology partner of the CNA world (National Confederation of Crafts and Small and Medium Sized businesses), which provides technology solutions and consulting services to SMEs, trade associations, financial intermediaries, professional firms and institutions.

Press contact:
Press Relations Advisor
BMP Comunicazione
team.infocert@bmpcomunicazione.it
Pietro Barrile +39 320 700 8732
Michela Mantegazza +39 328 122 5838
Francesco Petrella +39 345 2731 667
www.infocert.it
 

About main incubator GmbH:
main incubator is the research & development unit and the early-stage investor of Commerzbank Group. It examines future technologies of relevance to business and society, as well as promotes and develops sustainable solutions. Based on the technologies of additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, cross reality, internet of things, networks, robotics and quantum computing, main incubator develops prototypes, often in cooperation with partners from industry and research. By doing this, main incubator is actively involved in the creation of sustainable products, solutions and infrastructures. Through strategic investments in tech-driven start-ups, main incubator already supports innovations at an early stage and makes them available for Commerzbank and its customers. Furthermore, main incubator promotes the tech ecosystem by participating in opinion-forming processes and committee work, or through its own events, such as the monthly tech start-up event series "Between the Towers.

Press contact:
Main Incubator GmbH
Kathrin Mateoschus
presse@main-incubator.com
Tel.: +49 151 5271 6110
 

About FinLab AG:
Stock market listed company FinLab AG (WKN 121806 / ISIN DE0001218063 / ticker symbol: A7A) is one of the first and largest investors focused on the Financial Services Technologies ("FinTech") and blockchain sector in Europe. FinLab's focus in this context is to provide venture capital for start-ups with an aim to make long-term investments and provide strategic support to developing companies by leveraging our network and know-how. In addition, FinLab acts as an asset manager and manages assets in the three-digit million-dollar range.

Press contact:
FinLab AG
investor-relations@finlab.de
Telefon: +49 69 719 12800
www.finlab.de