IPO Filing: Cross Match Technologies (CROS)

Cross Match Technologies Inc. has filed to come public via an IPO, although no terms and conditions have been set.  The company lists Credit Suisse as the lead underwriter and lists co-managers are UBS, Morgan Stanley, and Raymond James. 

Cross Match provides biometric reading technologies for systems integrators, governments, law enforcement agencies and businesses around the world.  Its products are mostly in identity management systems: fingerprint, palm and full-hand scanning devices, Livescan devices, document readers.  It also has proprietary software, such as criminal booking, civil identification and facial recognition applications.  CM’s total revenue has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33% from 2002 to 2006. For 2006, total revenue was $76.9 million; and has more than 80,000 products deployed to more than 5,000 customers in 75 countries.

Normally we’d be able to say this is a backdoor play opportunity, but it doesn’t look that way for 95% of US investors.  The company is 37.94% owned by Smiths Group plc in the United Kingdom.  Unfortunately, even then the size differentiators between Smiths and Cross Match may be too large to ignore.  Cross Match has the proposed ticker of "CROS" on NASDAQ.

Jon C. Ogg
April 30, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at [email protected]; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.