Gemplus shareholders say 'yes' to merger

02 March 2006

The proposed merger of industry giants Gemplus and Axalto has taken another step forward following a vote by Gemplus shareholders.

At the company’s general meeting, between 97.8% and 99.9% of shareholders voted in favour of adopting the proposed resolutions. They approved a distribution of available reserves of €0.26 per share, subject to the satisfaction of conditions. The distribution would represent approximately €164 million based on current outstanding Gemplus shares. The proposed conditional recomposition of its board of directors was also approved.

Alex Mandl, president and CEO, Gemplus, says: “This is another important step towards the creation of Gemalto… After the unanimous support of our board, we are now strongly supported by our shareholders.”

Axalto’s shareholders approved the merger with Gemplus earlier this year, although official regulatory approval must still be given before the deal can be finalised.