Following a competitive bid process, travel technology platform Amadeus has announced its intention to acquire Idemia Public Security (IPS), a biometrics and identity services provider headquartered in France.
IPS has a global footprint and a customer base across public and private sectors. The proposed €1.2bn acquisition, on closing, should strengthen Amadeus’s biometric and identity capabilities, leveraging IPS technology and blue-chip-client base. The move follows Amadeus’s 2024 acquisition of Vision-Box.
Amadeus already connects airlines, airports, hotels and border systems and the acquisition will reinforce Amadeus’ broader ambition to become an orchestrator of the travel ecosystem.
By integrating biometric capabilities with airline, airport, border systems, and hotels, Amadeus can support the next phase of automation, delivering automated, and AI-enabled travel journeys while ensuring a secure identity layer exists across the entire journey.
The company expects the link-up with IPS to also drive the further digitalisation of core travel processes. Biometrics allows identity to be verified instantly, enabling faster processing, better security, and more efficient operations.
Luis Maroto, president and CEO, Amadeus, said: “This demonstrates further our long-term commitment to biometrics as part of our broader platform strategy. Alongside AI, biometrics is one of the most transformative technologies for delivering fast, convenient, and secure end-to-end traveler journeys. This will enable us to deliver our services across more traveller touch points.”
Decius Valmorbida, president, travel, Amadeus, added: “In a fast-evolving AI-world the bridging of physical and digital identity will be critical for seamless travel. By combining Amadeus and IPS capabilities we will be able to create more joined-up travel journeys in the future, better connecting the travel ecosystem and linking the traveller to the different steps of the journey.”
IPS employs around 3,300 people worldwide and serves more than 600 public and private sector customers.
The intended acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, with closing expected mid-2027.
