The Independent reported:
Every working adult in Britain will be required to have a new government-issued digital identity card as part of a fresh attempt to crack down on illegal migration.
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair pushed for such an ID when he was in office. Blair showed his love for private equity underwrites (PEU) while Prime Minister.
A report from Sir Tony Blair’s think tank, The Tony Blair Institute (TBI), published this week, also suggests there is growing public support for a “super-digital identity card” which would allow people to access public services and report problems in their local area.
The news prompted me to do a search on digital ID companies and Google provided a list (seen in the image at the top of this post). I then researched the owners/investors of these companies. To no surprise most of the equity holders are PEUs, venture capital firms or investment arms of major tech firms. In the case of ID.me, Ares provided debt financing. A former Blair advisor works for Ares. Charles Steel notes:
I started out at Goldman Sachs in London in 1997, switched to investing at The Carlyle Group and subsequently launched the private equity business of Ares Management in Europe.
IDNow just went through a continuation vehicle and secondary sale so limited partners could get their money back.
The public is well aware of who wins and who loses when government contracts with PEUs and their affiliates.
Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod brethren. Increasingly, more are one.
