"Placard is a strategic technological addition to the Assa Abloy Group. The company reinforces our current offering within secure cards. The acquisition of Placard considerably enhances the Group´s position in the Pacific smart card market and will provide complementary growth opportunities,” says Nico Delvaux, President and CEO of Assa Abloy.

“Placard’s large installed base of customers in the Australasia region demonstrates the continued strength of secure cards and their relevance in the lives of millions of people every day,” says Stefan Widing, Executive Vice President and Head of HID Global. “Adding Placard to the HID portfolio will expand our value-add services and enhance our capabilities for trusted identities, while striking the balance between offering a broad range of card solutions and providing customers with the choice of digital IDs.”

Placard was founded in 1987 and has some 170 employees. The main office is located in Melbourne, Australia.  Sales for 2019 are expected to reach about AUD 63 million (approx. SEK 520 million) with a good EBIT margin and the acquisition will be accretive to EPS from start.