VRSN!!!..WSJ(1/3): Identix And VeriSign Set Pact On Technology
DJN: WSJ(1/3): Identix And VeriSign Set Pact On Technology
From The Wall Street Journal
SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Identix Inc., a maker of fingerprint identification
systems, reached a technology agreement with VeriSign Inc. that includes a
$2 million investment by VeriSign in Identix.
Indentix plans to use VeriSign technology in a service called itrust, which
received a $3.75 million investment from Motorola Inc. in July. Itrust is
expected to be used by cellphone makers or other service providers to help
verify the identity of users. VeriSign, Mountain View, Calif., specializes
in digital certificates, an authentication technology that will be added to
itrust to help ensure that only authorized people receive messages sent
through networks.
Both companies plan to market the service to customers, who could use it for
tasks ranging from mobile-phone security or e-commerce to voting online.
Customers will pay a subscription fee for the itrust service, including
VeriSign's technology. Identix also will pay VeriSign an undisclosed amount
to use its technology, while VeriSign will buy $2 million in Identix common
stock at current prices.
The deal is expected to be announced today. In 4 p.m. composite trading
yesterday on the American Stock Exchange, Identix shares were off 59 cents
at $7.26. VeriSign shares were off $12.38, or 17%, at $61.81 in 4 p.m.
trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, after securities firm Robertson Stephens
downgraded a number of Internet stocks. |
