DNP Clears Acceptance Threshold in AUSTRIACARD Takeover, Awaiting Austrian Clearance

Shareholders have tendered 96.55 percent of AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS AG shares in Dai Nippon Printing’s public takeover offer, comfortably clearing the 75 percent minimum acceptance condition.

DNP said 35,099,096 ordinary shares were validly tendered. AUSTRIACARD is registered in Vienna and listed on both the Vienna Stock Exchange and Euronext Athens.

One condition remains outstanding. As of August 25 it had obtained foreign direct investment clearances in Greece and Romania and merger control clearances in Austria, Germany and Turkey, but not the Austrian FDI clearance. Once that is granted, all conditions precedent will be satisfied and the offer will be consummated.

AUSTRIACARD would then become a consolidated subsidiary of DNP. The Japanese company said it intends to run a squeeze-out procedure under Austrian law to take full ownership.

The offer, made in May, was priced at EUR 10.0 per ordinary share, cum dividend, valuing the entire issued share capital at EUR 364 million, or about JPY 67.7 billion. DNP secured an irrevocable undertaking from Nikolaos Lykos, AUSTRIACARD’s largest shareholder, covering his holding of roughly 74.58 percent of the issued share capital. The acceptance period ran from June 12 to August 21, Vienna time.

AUSTRIACARD was established in 1897 and runs smart payment card, citizen identity solutions and variable security printing businesses across Europe, Africa and North America. Its payment card division manufactures and personalizes around 100 million cards a year, mainly for banks and fintech companies in Europe and the United States. DNP said the company also has an established history of supplying national ID cards and ballot papers across Africa.

DNP identified information security as a strategic area of focus in its mid-term management plan for FY2026 to FY2028, published in March. It said the AUSTRIACARD deal is meant to combine its own foundation in Asia with the Austrian company’s presence in Europe, Africa and North America, and pointed to complementary geographic coverage and cross-selling opportunities.

The company also expects synergies with Rubicon SEZC, the holding company of Laxton Group, which DNP took a controlling stake in during 2025. DNP describes Rubicon as specialising in government-focused ID authentication services in Africa, covering personal information registration and verification. DNP is one of Japan’s largest printing groups and has a long-standing smart card business, having worked with Gemalto on facial recognition for mobile banking as far back as 2018.

Sources: Dai Nippon Printing, Dai Nippon Printing

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team