Commenting on the capital raise and Merkur Market process, André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe, said:
“These are truly exciting times. Biometric payment cards enabled with Zwipe technology offer consumers the convenience of contactless and the security and peace of mind of biometrics. With a mission of Making Convenience Secure, Zwipe is the first mover and technology leader in our field. We are partnering with global leaders and are well protected with a strong IP portfolio.
We are preparing for a commercial breakthrough for our biometric payment card solution in the second half of 2019 and accelerating growth in 2020 and beyond, both within biometric payment cards, wearables and other form factors and verticals. With a strengthened balance sheet and shareholder base, we will be well positioned to capture the opportunities ahead.”
Zwipe highlights
Financial history
Zwipe is pursuing a growth strategy and has since inception raised a total of NOK 241.3 million (USD 27.6 million) in equity, debt and grants. The capital has been invested in R&D, technology development, IP, organizational expansion, partnerships, operational expansion and other preparations for large-scale commercialisation.
In addition, Zwipe was awarded a NOK 23 million (USD 2.6 million) grant from the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme in December 2018. The grant will support Zwipe’s commercial go-to-market ability and will be paid out in tranches over the next 24 months. Horizon 2020 is the largest European Union (EU) Research and Innovation program, aiming to bring innovations faster to the market.
Offering highlights
The offering and subsequent admission to trading will contribute to strengthening Zwipe’s equity and financial position, including repayment of debt, and ensure sufficient funding of the company's planned commercialisation phase and further development of the company's technology.
The offering will consist of two tranches and is expected to raise gross proceeds of up to NOK 120 million (USD 13.7 million) through the issuance of up to 6 million new ordinary shares at a fixed price of NOK 20.00 per share.
The first tranche will be in the form of a private placement offered to large existing shareholders in the company and certain new investors in Norway and Sweden, who have pre-committed to subscribe for a total of 4.5 million shares in the amount of NOK 90 million (USD 10.3million).
Among the investors having provided pre-commitments are member of the board of directors, Lars Windfeldt, who has pre-committed to subscribe for 10.3% of the offering, approximately NOK 12.4 million (USD 1.4million) given a NOK 120 million round. Other members of the board of directors have pre-committed to subscribe for a total of approximately NOK 4.1 million (USD 0.5 million), approximately 3.4% of the offering.
The second tranche, in the amount of up to NOK 30 million (USD 3.4 million), will be in the form of a public offering of up to 1.5 million shares to retail investors. Existing shareholders in Zwipe who have not been allocated offer shares in the private placement will be offered to participate along with new retail investors in the Swedish and Norwegian markets.
All primary insiders in the company have entered into a lock-up agreement with the company, and hence are subject to a lock-up period of six months following completion of the offering.
Preliminary timetable and settlement:
Start of application period: 10 January 2019 at 09:00 hours (CET)
End of application period: 17 January 2019 at 16:30 hours (CET) (may close earlier and on short notice)
Allocation: On or about 17 January 2019
Settlement: Expected on or about 22 January 2019
Delivery and first day of trading: Expected on or about 28 January 2019, not prior to the share capital is registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises and announced by the company
Note that the timetable is subject to any shortening or extension of the application period and to the conditions outlined below being satisfied.
Completion of the offering is conditional upon the following conditions being satisfied:
(i) The company obtaining admission to trading on Merkur Market,
(ii) Approval of the offering by an extraordinary general meeting expected to be held on or about 18 January 2019,
(iii) The company resolving to consummate the offering and allocate the offer shares, and
(iv) Registration of the share capital increase in the company pertaining to the offering with the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises.
In addition, completion of the second tranche of 1.5 million shares to retail investors is conditional upon the approval of an EEA prospectus by the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (Finanstilsynet).
The offering is being managed by Carnegie AS and Redeye AB as Managers and Joint Bookrunners. In addition, Nordnet (Nordnet Bank AB in Sweden and Nordnet Bank NUF in Norway) is acting as alternative application office and receiving agent for applications for offer shares in the public offering from investors who are not existing shareholders of the company. Investors who are not existing shareholders and who wish to apply for offer shares in the public offering through Nordnet will have to apply for offer shares through their Nordnet accounts. Persons who are not customers of Nordnet will have to apply for an account in Nordnet in order to apply for offer shares in the public offering.
Advokatfirmaet Simonsen Vogt Wiig AS is acting as the company's legal counsel in connection with the offering and admission to trading. Advokatfirmaet Wiersholm AS acts as legal advisor to Carnegie AS in connection with the offering.
Media Contact for Zwipe: Ado Fazlic, VP Marketing, +47 930 44 040, ado@zwipe.com
Important notice
The contents of this announcement have been prepared by, and are the sole responsibility of, the company. The company's financial advisors are acting exclusively for the company and no one else and will not be responsible to anyone other than the company for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients, or for advice in relation to the transactions, the contents of this announcement or any of the matters referred to herein. The transactions and the distribution of this announcement and other information in connection with the transactions may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. The company assumes no responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions. Persons into whose possession this announcement or such other information should come are required to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions. This announcement may not be used for, or in connection with, and does not constitute, any offer of securities for sale in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. The transactions have not, and shall not, be made in any jurisdiction or in any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation would be unlawful. This announcement is not for distribution or publication, directly or indirectly, in or into any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful to make any such offer or solicitation to such person or where prior registration or approval is required for that purpose. No steps have been taken or will be taken relating to the transactions in any jurisdiction in which such steps would be required. Neither the publication and/nor delivery of this announcement shall under any circumstances imply that there has been no change in the affairs of the company or that the information contained herein is correct as of any date subsequent to the earlier of the date hereof and any earlier specified date with respect to such information. This announcement is not for publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in the United States (including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia). This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities in the United States. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. The shares to be issued in the transactions have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act") or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account of, U.S. persons (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the US Securities Act), except pursuant to an effective registration statement under, or an exemption from the registration requirements of, the US Securities Act. All offers and sales outside the United States will be made in reliance on Regulation S under the US Securities Act. There will be no public offer of securities in the United States. This announcement does not constitute an offering circular or prospectus in connection with an offering of securities of the company. Investors must neither accept any offer for, nor acquire, any securities to which this document refers, unless they do so on the basis of the information contained in the investor material made available by the company only to qualified persons in certain jurisdictions where an offer may be made. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for, any securities and cannot be relied on for any investment contract or decision. The offering is not being made into Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, the United States or Switzerland.
About Zwipe
Zwipe is a technology solution provider that enables battery-less, ultra-low-power, self-contained biometric authentication solutions. Together with an ecosystem of partners including global brands within security, financial services and ID applications, Zwipe is “Making Convenience Secure™” for banks, merchants and consumers. Using advanced fingerprint recognition while protecting personal information, Zwipe’s solutions address the data theft pitfalls inherent in traditional authentication methods. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Zwipe has spent the last 10 years developing its unique power harvesting technology platform in combination with security solutions based on international infrastructure standards.
For more information, visit: www.zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY – 15 June 2016– Zwipe, a global leader in biometric identification technologies, today announced the launch of Zwipe Access 2.0. The updated access control product has several key enhancements such as faster authentication, enhanced image and capture capabilities, and reduced false rejection rates. Zwipe Access 2.0 is being launched at IFSEC in London.
“The enhanced features were developed based on market research, customer feedback and industry advancements,” said Bob Fee, Director of Sales, North America.
The Zwipe Access biometric card is compatible with all popular proximity and smart card readers, including those from HID, Allegion and Farpointe. The on-card 3D capacitive fingerprint scanner both captures and matches on the card; enabling users to maintain the security of their own biometric data. At no time is biometric data communicated to any reader, hard drive or external database; giving peace of mind to end-users and card issuers alike.
Zwipe Access cards can be issued to key staff and personnel, or more specifically for certain high-security areas such as server rooms and pharmacies, providing the enhanced security benefits of 2-factor biometric authentication without the need to change existing access control system software or readers. The card can be integrated into a Physical or Logical Access Control system in the same way that present 125kHz Proximity, iCLASS, LEGIC or Mifare cards are incorporated. Through products such as Zwipe Access©, Zwipe ID© and Zwipe Payment©, Zwipe continues to be the industry leader in innovative biometric identification solutions.
OSLO, NORWAY – 7 MAY 2020 –
Q1 2020 Highlights
Developments after the period
CEO Comment
André Løvestam, Chief Executive Officer at Zwipe, said:
“Q1 2020 has been an intense quarter for Zwipe.
We started the year by listing on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market on January 28th, and have seen considerable interest in Zwipe across the Swedish investment community.
This quarter has also been marked by unprecedented global uncertainty tied to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. With the aim to protect our employees from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Zwipe quickly adapted with various protective measures such as remote work and travel bans. We have been able to continue operating remotely, with little to no impact being seen across our operations. Our commercial team has ramped up activity and been able to engage more frequently and openly as a result of the entire industry transitioning to videoconferencing as opposed to travel-intensive face-to-face meetings.
We observe an extensive focus on and interest in the improved hygiene and safety of biometric payment solutions; the awareness of biometric advantages is significantly higher than pre-Corona. This elevated focus on safety has significantly increased the growth of contactless transactions, and transaction caps have been raised all over the world1. Hygiene may become an accelerator and game-changer for biometric payments. A biometric payment card effectively eliminates the need to ever touch the payment terminal keypad – regular cards require PIN above the transaction limit, after a set number of transactions, and when the cumulative value of transactions has reached its limit.
We are seeing growing momentum across the payment ecosystem with increasing investment in supporting biometric payment card deployment. Zwipe is now working closely with partners across the value chain in developing a highly competitive offering in terms of energy efficiency and biometric performance at industry-leading manufacturing costs; Zwipe Pay ONE. This next generation contactless technology will achieve a radically lower total manufacturing cost per card, which we believe will be key to accelerate the volume market take-off. Therefore, we are proud and satisfied that the Zwipe Pay ONE project and the collaboration with Idemia and Idex is on track, as announced in April. The first samples of the new single chip have been manufactured and successfully powered-on. This development is very positive as our customers wish to get access to Zwipe Pay ONE as early as possible to be able to serve card issuers with the market’s most cost-effective biometric payment cards.
Recent certification industry announcements bring further confidence to the trajectory of biometric payment card rollout. Certification of payment products is a rigorous and capital-intensive process for card manufacturers and a strong signal of intent to capitalize on the next natural step for payment cards, following the introduction of dual-interface payment cards in 2007.
I am also satisfied with the very good progress in the wearable project announced with G+D in September, as this project is also on track.
Looking ahead, we are committed to supporting our customers to elevate their product portfolios by making it easy to integrate biometric payment solutions. Key to this work is technical deliverables and sharing the expertise we have built from having the most widely piloted solution to position, educate and market biometric payment cards to banks and issuers. We are doing everything in our power to build and maintain strong relationships with our industry-leading partners that will create sustainable long-term commercial opportunities for themselves and Zwipe going forward.”
Financial Update
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This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Oslo Børs Merkur Market, Nasdaq First North Growth Market and the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, on May 7, 2020 at 08:30 CEST
OSLO, NORWAY – 28 APRIL 2020 – Biometric fintech company Zwipe is pleased to announce that Asia Credit Card Production Ltd. (ACC), a specialist smart card manufacturer based in Hong Kong, has chosen to partner with Zwipe in order to offer and roll out a range of biometric payment specific products and services including cards, wearables, enrolment and customer onboarding solutions.
ACC has an extensive smart card product portfolio with a large client base in a wide range of industries worldwide. ACC has begun integrating Zwipe’s biometric inlay platform into their smart card production facility in order to prepare for the launch of Zwipe Pay ONE when it becomes available later this year.
“We strongly believe that biometric payment cards are the future and there is a strong market for payment cards in the fast-moving Asia Pacific region even in the face of surging smartphone use. Working now to integrate Zwipe’s technology, we are confident that we will have a truly disruptive offering that will enable us to significantly grow our banking customer base in the region and beyond,” said Gary Li, Managing Director of Asia Credit Card Production Ltd.
As an essential manufacturer in the heart of APAC, ACC is now working at full capacity. On the back of their commitment to issuing biometric payment cards this year, the company is in the process of completing the application process for full card scheme certification to expand its portfolio of offerings to leading issuers across the region.
“We continue to build our global portfolio of customer relationships, which will be instrumental in the roll-out of future products. The partnership with ACC will further broaden our access to the Asian markets,” said André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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About Asia Credit Card Production LTD
ACC is a leading professional RFID card and smart card manufacturer. Headquartered in Hong Kong and production plant in Shenzhen, China. With over 20 years of experience in card industry, ACC is offering top quality products and services compliant to industry standards and customer requirements. We continuously strengthen partnerships with our strategic alliances and industry leaders to fulfill our commitment to the industry.
For more information contact: James Duran, +852 2389 3393 james@asia-cc.com.hk
OSLO, NORWAY– 23 APRIL 2020 – The Nomination Committee of Zwipe AS has proposed the nomination of two leading payment and technology professionals to its board of directors to be voted upon at its upcoming Annual General Meeting to be held virtually on 14 May 2020.
Mr. Diderik Schonheyder is a recognized authority on payment products, services and systems development with more than 35 years’ experience as an executive, advisor and investor in the information technology and telecommunications industry. He previously served in global roles at Visa International and MasterCard, and currently operates a consultancy company focused on payment ecosystems.
Mr. Pål Eivind Vegard is a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and board member who has been active for over three decades in the telecommunications and software industries in Europe. He established Tele1 Europe in Norway in 1998 before going on to fund several companies. Through his investment company, Concito, he was one of the early backers of Zwipe and he served on Zwipe’s board from 2011 to 2016. He was also an early investor and chairman of the board in Onecall, today a successful mobile brand owned by Telia.
In addition to Diderik Schonheyder and Pål Eivind Vegard, the Nomination Committee proposes that Dorian Barak, Johan Biehl, Dennis Jones and Jörgen Lantto (Chairman) are re-elected as Directors of the Board.
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OSLO, NORWAY– 22 April 2020 – Biometric fintech company Zwipe is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with Toppan Forms Card Technologies Limited, the strongest local card manufacturer in the Hong Kong and Macau region, to collaborate on the product positioning, development and commercialization of biometric payment cards.
Toppan Forms Card Technologies Limited has an extensive customer network with the large banks in Hong Kong and Macau, offering a wide range of data management and card solutions. The company is an authorized VISA, MasterCard, China UnionPay, JCB and AMEX card manufacturer in Hong Kong. Using the strengths it has obtained in the data management area, the company is working to create new value as a digital hybrid company that is able to provide products and services with security elements.
“Biometric payment cards can be a lucrative product for us considering the types of banks we have as customers, with many high net worth clients. We are eager to integrate Zwipe’s technology including Zwipe Pay ONE, providing a premium status product which strengthens the contactless payment experience enabling more secure and convenient options for cardholders thanks to its enhanced biometric features,” said Mr. Joseph Hui, Deputy Managing Director of Toppan Forms Card Technologies Limited.
“Our collaboration with Toppan Forms Card Technologies Limited is another important step for Zwipe as we prepare to roll out our Zwipe Pay ONE platform. Working with strong local players connected to leading issuers in their markets will be instrumental in enabling the scaling of our offering going forward,” said André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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About Toppan Forms Card Technologies Limited.
Toppan Forms (Hong Kong) Group founded Toppan Forms Card Technologies Limited (TFCT) in 1982 as its first step of diversification in becoming a trusted total service provider. We provide a variety of card solutions, card issuance systems and services for the ever-expanding IT market. In light of our company mission to be an innovation frontier, the company enriches the integrated IT solutions offering in terms of Robotic Solutions, Access Control and e-Application. The company is working to create new value as a Digital Hybrid Company that is able to provide products and services from both the analog and digital aspects. To visit our website www.toppanforms.com
For more information, please contact us +852 2519 6388 contact@toppanforms.com
OSLO, NORWAY – 20 April 2020 – Zwipe, a leading biometric fintech company, and IDEX Biometrics, a leading provider of fingerprint identification technologies, announce that they have signed an agreement that will see Zwipe combining IDEX Biometrics sensor products with the Zwipe Pay ONE platform to enable a complete system solution for biometric payment cards.
Zwipe Pay ONE is a technology platform based on a single-chip biometric secure element with operating system and relevant proprietary software. The result will be a compelling biometric payment card offering to card manufacturers in the global market.
The two companies also plan to formalize cross-licensing of intellectual property and a joint marketing approach as Zwipe Pay ONE with IDEX sensor becomes available for piloting.
“We are excited to work closely with Zwipe, a pioneer in the biometric payment card market. We believe the combination of Zwipe Pay ONE with IDEX next generation sensor has strong potential to become a market leading solution. IDEX is providing fingerprint sensors and technical expertise towards the shared goal of accelerating adoption of biometric payment cards,” said Vincent Graziani, CEO of IDEX Biometrics.
“IDEX Biometrics has developed a next-generation fingerprint sensor. We are ideally positioned to take a leading position in the biometric payments market, providing smart card manufacturers with a superior offering in terms of energy efficiency and biometric performance at industry-leading manufacturing costs", said André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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COURBEVOIE, FRANCE and OSLO, NORWAY– 08 April 2020 –
Following the exclusive partnership and distribution agreement signed between IDEMIA and ZWIPE, the two companies announce that first samples of the new chip have now arrived for further verification and qualification with the first power-on successfully executed. Therefore, the new platform will now progress to the next stages of developments and will be able to meet expected demand from card issuers with a first launch on the market as from second half 2020 followed by a mass production of biometric cards during 2021. IDEMIA and IDEX have signed an agreement by which IDEX will supply the card’s sensors for this next generation of biometric payment cards. This agreement deepens a long-standing collaboration between IDEMIA and IDEX to develop biometric payment cards including an IP licensing agreement signed in Oct 20193. By teaming up with ZWIPE and IDEX to offer a disruptive biometric payment card platform that will radically reduce biometric payment card costs, IDEMIA is driving the growth of the biometric cards market and enables an accelerated path to mass volumes, which will ultimately benefit the issuers and users of cards.
Amanda Gourbault, IDEMIA Executive Vice President Financial Institutions says: “This achievement of this key milestone demonstrates that our next F.CODE generation biometric card development is being executed according to plan allowing a pilot launch second half 2020. Together with our business partners we are showcasing our best-in-class expertise in designing and manufacturing biometric-based payment cards”.
André Løvestam, CEO of ZWIPE says: ”We are pleased to see this progress and we strongly believe that bringing forward the new platform together with IDEMIA will be a major catalyst in creating long term shareholder value and provide the technological leap needed to shape the future of the biometric payment card market and to drive commercial success for ZWIPE. The progress up until now has further strengthened our conviction that this project will meet not only the time schedule, but also the targeted unit cost reductions on biometric payment cards.”
Vince Graziani, CEO of IDEX commented: “We are proud to have been selected by IDEMIA and look forward to continue collaboration with this leader in authentication solutions, and to initiate collaboration with ZWIPE to bring biometric payment cards to the mass market. This award by one of the world’s largest card manufacturers is a validation of our off-chip product design that enables high performance at a disruptive cost point.”
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2: manufacturers of payment cards, wearables and other payment solutions, and their suppliers.
OSLO, NORWAY – 25 March 2020 – Biometric technology company Zwipe is pleased to announce that it has been selected by Masria Digital Payments (MDP), one of the largest smart card manufacturers and digital payments providers in the Middle East and Africa to deliver biometric payments solutions to enhance MDP’s innovation product portfolio.
Zwipe will support MDP in integrating and rolling out biometric payment cards and eventually biometric enabled wearable devices to a region that has expressed significant interest in the technology.
“To continue MDP’s long tradition of technology leadership, we are integrating Zwipe’s current biometric payment platform now to educate the market and get prepared for Zwipe Pay ONE. We are confident that, when that becomes available, we will have banks across the region ready to take the next natural step in payment cards with us”, says Ahmed Nafie, EVP of MDP.
The Middle East and North Africa is seeing great interest in biometric payment solutions, especially biometric payment cards.
“Zwipe is thrilled to win a new strategic customer wanting to pilot our current product platform to pave the way for early deployment of our future offering, Zwipe Pay ONE. Working together we can unlock many opportunities in a part of the world that is proving to be a first mover when it comes to biometric payments” says André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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About MDP
Masria Digital Payments (previously Masria Card S.A.E) is Africa's leading smart card solutions provider with a regional presence spanning 35 countries and 3 continents. Building on its vast sector experience, MDP has consistently introduced the latest technology in cards, payment security and smart applications to the Middle East and African markets. MDP also provides its partners with a complete card offering ranging from card production, personalization, issuance and fulfilment as a service or as a solution. MDP is the only end to end fully certified African payments solutions provider to offer a full card services, solutions, processing and digital payment suites to clients in the financial, government and retail sector under one roof.
For more information, please visit www.mdp-eg.com/
OSLO, NORWAY - 18 March 2020 - Zwipe’s CEO André Løvestam presented Zwipe at a RedEye Investor event in Sweden on 12 March 2020 where he addressed the ongoing global Covid-19 situation and its impact on the company’s operations: “To address the escalating situation regarding the Corona virus, it is important to acknowledge the global impact it is having. However, we want to stress that Zwipe carries on. We are a lean global team committed to our targets and, as we have done before, we are adapting quickly and effectively to the changing environment we operate in. Projects are ongoing, we have suspended travel, we are doing more video conferencing and ultimately continuing to do business as best we can in the face of this new adversity.”
The Zwipe team spans across Europe, the United States and Asia with more than 25% working permanently from home offices. The company has moved quickly to enact travel bans and new working standards enabling our staff to work from home offices as of 13 March 2020.
Commenting on the company and its plan to work through the current global situation, André Løvestam said “we are committed to the safety and security of our team members and their families and we are monitoring the situation closely. Some of our partners in China and Europe have been impacted, however, most of our ongoing efforts are not impeded by the current situation and we are confident that we will be able to weather the current downturn and look forward to share progress as we go forward.”
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OSLO, NORWAY – 28 February 2020 – Zwipe AS today publishes its half-year financial report for 2H 2019.
The report does not contain inside information. Zwipe’s audited Annual Report 2019 was released on 26 February 2020.
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