IDEMIA formalizes $1.4 billion sale amid N.J. voter registration controversy

IDEMIA, the France-based company at the center of New Jersey’s massive voter registration controversy, has formalized the $1.4 billion sale of its public security business to a Spanish travel technology company.

Amadeus IT Group will pay roughly $1.4 billion for IDEMIA Public Security and its subsidiaries, with an additional earn-out of up to $170 million, according to Biometric Update.

The previously announced transaction remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in mid-2027.  Amadeus secured a syndicated bridge loan to finance the acquisition.

Amadeus operates the world’s largest travel booking system and expects the purchase to expand its footprint at airports and border checkpoints.  IDEMIA Public Security is currently owned by Advent International, a Boston-based private equity firm.

The deal comes as IDEMIA faces intense scrutiny in New Jersey after Gov. Mikie Sherrill alleged that a software failure operated by the company resulted in roughly 6,600 non-citizens being improperly registered to vote between June 2023 and June 2024. Fewer than 400 of them ultimately cast ballots.

The affected individuals had answered “no” when asked whether they were United States citizens while applying for driver’s licenses or identification cards, but their information was still transmitted for voter registration.

Sherrill has called the failure unacceptable and said New Jersey is replacing IDEMIA.

IDEMIA has disputed Sherrill’s characterization, saying its system accurately transmitted the information it collected and that the state Division of Elections was ultimately responsible for validating voter eligibility.

The controversy has also reached the federal level.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly) asked the General Services Administration and Office of Management and Budget to conduct a government-wide audit of every federal contract involving IDEMIA.

Gottheimer said the review should examine the company’s work on identity and security systems used by the Transportation Security Administration, Customs and Border Protection, the FBI and the Department of Defense.

“This incident raises serious concerns about the reliability of IDEMIA’s software, the company’s quality control practices, and the federal government’s reliance on a single contractor to manage highly sensitive identity and biometric systems,” Gottheimer said.