DLA Piper advises on the acquisition of French identity technology Provider ARIADNEXT by IDnow

DLA Piper has advised ARIADNEXT, a French company specializing in remote identity verification and digital identity creation, on its acquisition by IDnow, a German-based leader in identity verification-as-a-service solutions.

With IDnow and ARIADNEXT joining forces, the companies can provide one comprehensive identity verification platform, ranging from AI driven to human-assisted technology and from online to point-of-sale verification options. The combination further increases the services IDnow offers to the UK, French and German markets, as well as to international customers with identity verification needs across several jurisdictions and use cases.

On the back of strong adoption of digital identity products, IDnow expects to increase revenue 3xin 2021 versus 2019 and is on track to continue accelerating this growth momentum.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, IDnow has seen an extraordinary increase in demand for their solutions. IDnow’s products have been used 200% more compared to last year and many companies have decided to switch to fully digital application processes. The integration of ARIADNEXT, whose service usage has increased more than 130% per year over the last five years, will help to meet this rising demand by providing an outstanding, frictionless user experience.

IDnow will retain ARIADNEXT’s locations in Rennes, Paris, Madrid, Bucharest, Iasi and Warsaw, as well as its over 125 employees. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals.

The DLA Piper team advising ARIADNEXT was led by Paris-based team which included Corporate partner Xavier Norlain, senior associate Laurent Asquin and associate Benjamin Benzakine on the corporate aspects, partner Fanny Combourieu and senior associate Louis-Augustin Jourdan on the tax aspects, partner Edouard Sarrazin and senior associate Julie Brousseau on Foreign Direct Investment aspects, partner Jérôme Halphen and senior associate Vanessa Li on the labor laws aspects. They were assisted by a team from the firm’s offices in Germany which included Corporate partner Nils Krause and counsel Moritz von Hesberg in Hamburg, as well as senior associate Rune Jelte Weltz and associate Jessica Herrmann in Munich. Tax advise was provided by partner Konrad Rohde (Frankfurt) and counsel Sebastian Kost (Munich).