Not long after officially opening its new world headquarters in Austin, Texas, HID Global acquired San Francisco-based IdenTrust, a provider of interoperable digital identities that authenticate, encrypt and create electronic signatures for various types of transactions or activities.

IdenTrust is a key supplier of digital identities for the U.S. Department of Defense’s External Certification Authority (ECA) program and the General Services Administration’s Access Certificates for Electronic Services (ACES) program. It also provides identity management solutions to more than 20 of the world’s largest financial institutions.

This latest acquisition complements HID parent company ASSA ABLOY’s 2010 acquisition of logical access control provider ActivIdentity, and will provide HID with a trust framework for issuing, authenticating and using digital identities based on open standards, said Denis Hébert, HID’s president and CEO of HID Global.

While acquisition was just recently announced, it’s been in the works for some time. And according to Karen J. Wendel, IdenTrust’s president and CEO, the mutually beneficial deal was worth the wait.

“This acquisition, long in the making due to regulatory requirements, is very positive for IdenTrust, its customers, other shareholders and employees,” Wendel said. “HID Global provides IdenTrust with a strong, financially stable owner with a highly complementary product portfolio, while IdenTrust offers HID Global enhanced access to the banking, corporate, and government identity markets. The combined solution offering is unmatched in the industry.”