SAGEM (Euronext Paris : SAG) announced today the finalised purchase of the MONETEL Electronic Transactions business unit from ASCOM Group (the operation was announced by both groups on 11 June). The merging is effective as from 1 October 2002.

The MONETEL Electronic Transactions business unit is located in Guilherand Granges (Southern France) and in Copenhagen. It employs 180 people, with sales amounting to  m 60 in 2001. SAGEM has purchased the MONETEL brand name with two complementary product ranges : wireless and countertop payment terminals.

The SAGEM Monétel subsidiary is integrated into the Security Division, which has been created within SAGEM in order to reinforce the group’s development in the fields of payment solutions, biometrics and security systems.

Groupe SAGEM is an internationally-based high-technology group. The second largest French group in the field of telecommunications and the third largest European company in electronics for defence and security, SAGEM is the world leader in fingerprint-based biometrics. The company maintains a presence in more than 20 countries.