Optimal Payments To Acquire Skrill ln Agreement With Sentinel Topco Limited

Optimal Payment's new combined company will invest in expanding payment processing and digital wallet markets, especially within the online gambling sector.

Optimal Payments, a payment provider for online gaming transactions, recently cinched a deal to take over payment processor Skrill, a former competitor, ran by Sentinel Group Holdings. The agreement will see Optimal subsidiary Netinvest Limited amass all of Skrill's shares in exchange for $781 million as well as 37,493,053 in new ordinary shares, which will be paid out upon completion. Profit after tax for Optimum Payments was up 83% on the previous year to $57.7 million at December 2014, which shows its solid footing and capacity to buy the Sentinel Topco Limited and its various subsidiaries.

Numis Market stated that "we believe EBITDA will treble by FY17E" and that the deal bought "major competitor on board for Optimal Payments, sharply reduces the exposure to Asia and brings credible VC investors onto the share register. The company is expected to move to Main Market and join the FTSE250 index as soon as possible after completion. Trading in the shares will be suspended ahead of an EGM". Optimal Payments facilitates secure payments between online casino gamblers and thousands of online gambling businesses, including those operating under EU gambling laws, and does so in various currencies

Sentinel Group Holdings to own 7.9% of the enlarged share capital of Netinvest Limited

The Sentinel Group Holdings will latch on to 7.9% of the increased share capital of the new company. In a statement, Optimal said the deal will be both “transformational and value enhancing and will lead to the creation of a payment and digital wallet provider with significant international scale and reach”. Optimal also confirmed its full-year financial results with a 44% rise in revenue.

President and chief executive officer of Optimal Payments, Joel Leonof said of the deal in recent EU gambling news that “Over the past four years, we have successfully delivered significant growth in revenues and earnings for our shareholders. The combined business will be quoted in the UK and will be of sufficient scale for us to seek a main market listing and FTSE250 inclusion as soon as possible following completion of the acquisition.”