Monday March 23,2015 : OPTIMAL PAYMENTS ACQUIRES SKRILL GROUP
In $1.2 Billion deal
Online payments processor Optimal Payments has agreed to acquire Sentinel Topco Limited and its subsidiaries which include European focused competitor to its Neteller product, the Skrill Group.
The enterprise value of the deal is stated to be approximately Euro 1.1 Billion or $1.2 Billion.
Netinvest Limited, a subsidiary of Optimal Payments will acquire the entire issued share capital of Skrill in exchange for Euro 720 million and 37.49 million New Ordinary Shares, payable at completion.
Following Completion, which is expected in the third quarter of 2015, Sentinel Group Holdings S.A. or its shareholders will own approximately 7.9 percent of the Enlarged Share Capital of the Enlarged Group.
The deal will expand Optimal’s online and digital payment services, allowing it to expand from a few core customers, commented Joel Leonoff, chief executive of Optimal.
"The U.S. market, in particular, is just re-opening and re-evolving," Leonoff told Reuters. "Ultimately we're looking at states like Pennsylvania and California to come online and this certainly establishes us as a very relevant supplier to the industry."
The Acquisition and other Rights Issues are conditional upon the approval of Shareholders at the General Meeting expected to be held on 16 April 2015.
Following completion, Optimal will seek a main market listing and inclusion in the FTSE-250 Madcap Index, moving from its current listing on London’s junior AIM market.