Dutch Government Blocks Kyndryl Acquisition of Solvinity

The Dutch government has blocked American IT company Kyndryl from acquiring Solvinity, a Dutch cloud provider that hosts the Netherlands' online identity platform. Dutch minister for the digital economy Willemijn Aerdts stated in a letter published Monday that the government imposed a complete prohibition on the acquisition.

The letter described the deal as posing a possible risk to the public interest. Solvinity hosts DigiD, a government-managed service that allows Dutch residents to verify their identity when accessing public services. The acquisition would have transferred control of that platform to Kyndryl for an undisclosed sum.

The government did not provide an explicit reason for the prohibition. U.S. companies regardless of where the data is stored. Kyndryl told Politico it was extremely disappointed by the decision. Politico first reported the news.