Optimal Payments Acquires Skrill in $1.2 Billion Deal

Another merger is now making headway in Britain, after months since the offer was made. This time, the company being sought is the Skrill Group. The company taking over Skrill is the Isle of Man-based online payment provider Optimal Payments, which had made a $1.2 Billion offer way back on March 23.

Optimal Payments has finally received the go-ahead from the country’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is pushing to complete the deal by Aug 10. The company already has other popular e-payment services like Neteller, Net+ and NETBANX in its portfolio and Skrill will be the latest addition.

The paysafecard brand in its portfolio has made Skrill currently one of Europe’s largest online pre-paid card providers. In Aug 2013, CVC Capital had gained a large controlling stake in Skrill from earlier Bahrain-based Investcorp for €600m. CVC Capital’s Sentinel Group Holdings SA, Investcorp Technology Partners and others are all currently among Skrill shareholders.

With this acquisition Optimal is hoping to grab the larger pie of the online payment market, as it will have an accumulated $697 Million profit generating company in place.

The company stated that, “The Directors believe that there is a clear and compelling strategic and financial rationale for a combination of Optimal Payments and Skrill.”

Dennis Jones, Chairman of Optimal told the press that it was a magnificent opportunity for the company and said, “We are taking advantage of an exceptional opportunity to acquire a business we know very well which, combined with Optimal Payments, will be a leading UK based online payments business with the essential scale necessary to be highly successful. These opportunities are few and far between.”

The takeover has been financed through financial institutions like, the Bank of Montreal, the Barclays Bank, and the Deutsche Bank providing credit of €500 million and is powered by a combination of cash new debt facilities, and a fully underwritten Rights Issue.

Image Courtesy: www.tumblr.com