Thales acquires Gemalto for €4.8bn

Aerospace and defense company Thales has agreed to buy chipmaker Gemalto in a deal worth 4.8 billion euros ($5.6 billion). The agreement came just two days after Gemalto had rejected an earlier bid of €4.3bn by rival Atos to strengthen in the emerging field of digital security as well as Internet of Things (IoT).

Atos, whose offer was rejected by Gemalto, acknowledged the offer by Thales to acquire Gemalto at €51.0 per share.

The firm said later that it would not pursue its offer to acquire Gemalto at €46.0 per share, although it would be open to discussion with Gemalto if Thales’ conditional offer could not be completed.