Acquisition Will Diversify Customer Base,
Product Offering, Geographic Exposure and Sector Presence
MONTREAL and NEW YORK, March 23,
2015 /PRNewswire/ - Optimal Payments Plc (LSE AIM: OPAY,
"Optimal Payments" or the "Optimal Payments Group"), a global
provider of online and mobile payment processing services, has
entered into an agreement to acquire Skrill Group from CVC Funds
and other shareholders, for an enterprise value of approximately
€1.1 billion (US$[1.2] billion). The Skrill Group is one of
Europe's leading digital payments
businesses providing digital wallet solutions and online payment
processing capabilities and is one of the largest prepaid online
voucher providers in Europe with
its paysafecard brand. The acquisition is subject to the
satisfaction of a number of conditions including Optimal Payments'
shareholder and regulatory approvals.
The Directors of Optimal Payments believe that the acquisition
will be transformational and value-enhancing for Optimal Payments
and will create a leading payment and digital wallet provider with
significant international scale and reach that is well positioned
to capitalize on the substantial and growing payment processing and
digital wallet markets, particularly within the rapidly expanding
online gambling sector.
"Over the past four years, we have successfully delivered
significant growth in revenues and earnings for our shareholders,"
said Joel Leonoff, president &
CEO, Optimal Payments. "This growth resulted from executing our
strategy to generate high levels of organic growth and to
supplement this with accretive acquisitions. The acquisition
of Skrill will create a global tech champion in the fast growing
digital payments space and we believe represents a transformational
leap forward that greatly accelerates our strategic plan. The
Optimal Payments management team is extremely excited about the
future prospects for the Company."
The Directors of Optimal Payments believe that there is a clear
and compelling strategic and financial rationale for a combination
of Optimal Payments and Skrill (forming the "Enlarged Group"):
- The Enlarged Group will have significantly enhanced scale to
create market leadership in the stored value and payments
processing sectors:
- 100+ payment types in 22+ languages and 41 currencies offered
by the Enlarged Group
- A broadened sector exposure to digital media and ecommerce
segments as well as enhanced presence in online gambling
- Increased customer and geographic diversification:
- Increased merchant diversification and establishing a
well-rounded and broad customer base
- Compelling complementarity in Optimal Payments' and Skrill's
geographic areas of operation and revenue generation
- Well positioned to capitalize on expected growth in the North
American regulated online gambling market
- Highly complementary businesses with compelling strategic
fit:
- A leading global player in the digital wallet category with the
NETELLER® and Skrill digital wallet
- Well positioned as a leading straight-through processing
payment gateway services provider in the attractive ecommerce
sector
- The Enlarged Group's Principal Membership with Visa Europe and
MasterCard Europe provides a complete end to end payment solution
for partners and merchants in Europe
- Strengthened prepaid online payment solutions offering with the
addition of paysafecard
- Experienced and augmented management team:
- Strong leadership team of Optimal Payments with collectively
over 140 years of experience in international payment
processing
- Significant transaction integration experience (most recently
with Meritus / GMA and previously with the integration of Optimal
Payments and Neovia)
- Intention to augment Optimal Payments' senior management with
Skrill executives
About Skrill
Skrill is a privately held global
provider of digital payment and electronic money solutions, founded
and headquartered in London, UK,
with key offices in Vienna,
New York and Sofia. Skrill is one of Europe's leading digital payments providers
providing digital wallet solutions and online payment processing
capabilities and is one of the largest pre-paid online voucher
providers in Europe with its
paysafecard brand. Skrill's businesses comprise Skrill, paysafecard
and Payolution. Skrill's principal product is the e-Wallet, an
internet-based stored value account, established by merchants and
customers, maintained by Skrill and enabling account holders to
send and receive money instantly and securely, using a wide
selection of payment options at a low cost and to pay for goods and
services online. Skrill also provides payment-related services
through its Payment Service Provider Gateway, Direct Payment
Gateway and Prepaid MasterCard® offering. Payolution offers a white
label payment upon invoice solution to merchants.
About Optimal Payments
Optimal Payments is a global
provider of online payment solutions, trusted by businesses and
consumers in over 200 countries and territories to move and manage
billions of dollars each year. Merchants use the NETBANX® platform
and services to simplify how they accept credit and debit card,
direct-from-bank, and alternative and local payments; and the
NETELLER® service to increase revenues and capture new customers.
Consumers use the multi-lingual and multi-currency NETELLER and
Net+® Card stored-value offering to make secure and convenient
payments. In addition, Card Services, another division of
Optimal Payments, provides innovative prepaid products and services
to merchants. Optimal Payments Plc is quoted on the London Stock
Exchange's AIM market, with a ticker symbol of OPAY. Subsidiary
company Optimal Payments Ltd is authorised and regulated as an
e-money issuer by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FRN:
900015).
For more information on Optimal Payments
visit www.optimalpayments.com
You can subscribe for media alerts
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Twitter.
Any securities issued by Optimal Payments will not be
registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
"Securities Act") and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or
pursuant to an applicable exemption from the registration
requirements of the Securities Act.
SOURCE Optimal Payments Plc