Anaheim, Calif., Sept. 22, 2009 -- Secure identity solutions provider SCM Microsystems and RFID technology developer Bluehill ID announced Monday that they have agreed to merge their respective companies.

Bluehill ID, a European-based company, began operations a little over two years ago in Germany focusing on identification and security solutions, making a number of acquisitions in the RFID and identification markets.

Under the agreement, Bluehill will be brought under the umbrella of SCM, but the company’s five divisions, Multicard, TagStar, Arygon Technology, Syscan ID, and ASiG Technology will retain their identities. SCM merged with U.S.-based access control company Hirsch Electronics earlier this year in a deal that doubled the size of SCM.

Multicard, which operates in Europe, specializes in multi-function smart cards for government and corporate secure identification programs. Arygon, which has operations in Germany, India and Singapore, provides RFID readers for such applications as transit and event ticketing. TagStar operates out of Germany and makes RFID tags for similar applications and recently launched a tag for metal products. Syscan ID, which is based in Canada and has operation in Brazil and the U.S., makes RFID solutions for agricultural asset management. ASig serves as a European distributor for the company.

Manfred Muller, SCM Microsystems executive vice president of strategic sales and business development, said that the companies first started working together when SCM was working in the e-document space and found that while they had great inroads into the market, they didn’t necessarily have the best technology. On the opposite side of the equation was Bluehill’s Arygon, which was a fairly young company, but had what many considered was the premier technology in the e-document space. At the same time, Arygon was getting into physical and logical access and needed contactless readers which SCM had.

“What was really created was a cross-selling type relationship,” said Muller.

For Bluehill, areas like physical access and logical access are only one part of the firms overall solution set, according to the company’s CEO Ayman Ashour, but being able to tie in with companies like SCM and Hirsch made sense with what they brought to the table.