Shares of Identive Group Inc. surged Thursday after the Santa Ana-based company announced it would supply the federal government with 266,000 smart card readers.
Investors seized upon the deal, sending shares up nearly 27% in midday New York trading to a market value of about $75 million.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The readers, which fit into a USB port, allow government employees to quickly and securely log on to a computer network, improving cyber security and email encryption concerns.
The name of the federal agency that will use the cards was not disclosed.
Identive garnered the contract because of its ability to supply the large volume order quickly, according to Manfred Mueller, chief operating officer for the company’s Identification Products division.
The deal could pave the way for more government contracts, while positioning the company to capitalize on the movement to better secure data in the private sector.
Identive makes scanners, readers, cards and other security devices for buildings, computers and financial transactions.
The company has close ties to Washington and that may have helped secure the deal.
In January Identive added former White House security adviser Richard Clarke to its board. Clarke served under three presidents—George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush—from 1992 to 2003.
Clark served 19 years at the Pentagon and other intelligence posts, and at the State Department, before serving in the White House.
He now is chairman of Good Harbor Consulting LLC, a security risk-management firm based near Washington, D.C. , and also is a consultant for ABC News and teaches at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Clarke brought the company cyber-security expertise, global relationships and a well-respected name, Identive Chief Executive Ayman Ashour said at the time.
The company posted revenue of $102.7 million in 2011, up 21% from a year earlier.
