Malaysia's government has ruled out the potential acquisition of Datasonic Technologies, the primary supplier of the nation's passports and national identity cards. The National Security Council (NSC) announced this decision on Saturday, August 22, stating that the government will continue to explore measures to safeguard the "security and sovereignty" of its citizens' identities while ensuring value for public spending.
This decision comes after Datasonic's parent company, NexG, disclosed on Friday that the government was considering a $1.9 billion (RM7.5 billion) acquisition. NexG had reported that the Ministry of Finance verbally requested an indicative price for a possible takeover during a meeting on July 24, although no written document was issued. NexG's management had valued Datasonic at approximately RM7.5 billion, but noted it was not an independent valuation.
Datasonic Technologies holds contracts to supply passports and IDs to the government until the end of 2032, with these agreements collectively valued at about RM2.46 billion. The company is NexG's core business and a major contributor to its revenue and earnings. NexG had previously indicated that a disposal of Datasonic could significantly impact its operations and potentially its continued listing on Bursa Malaysia.
