STAMFORD, Conn. (AFX) - Viisage Technology Inc.'s chairman said he purchased 400,000 shares of Identix Inc. stock on the open market Tuesday and Wednesday, increasing his stake in the biometric technology company to one million shares, or slightly less than 15 percent.
Viisage, a maker of facial-recognition technologies, is in the process of acquiring Identix.
Identix, based in Minnetonka, Minn., had 6.7 million shares outstanding at the end of March.
Viisage Chairman Robert V. LaPenta purchased the Identix shares through his Connecticut-based private investment company, L-1 Investment Partners. He will become chairman and CEO of the merged company; the all-stock deal is scheduled to close in the third quarter.
Shares of Viisage, based in a Billerica, Mass., closed up 1 cent at $13.25 on the Nasdaq; Identix shares were up 6 cents to close at $6.11.
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