GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 32 - June 2015

WEBMASTER NEWS Webmaster News Optimal Payments agrees to buy Skrill for $1.2 billion By Dan Podheiser O ptimal Payments wrapped its arms further around the online gaming payment processing world in late March when it agreed to purchase one of its top competitors, Skrill, for $1.2 billion. The two companies will combine to form the Enlarged Group, giving the new firm greater reach across the globe and mar- ket leadership in several online gaming jurisdictions. "We now become significantly more rel- evant to the industry as the consolidation strengthens our position around the world," Optimal Payments CEO Joel Leonoff told the GPWA. While Optimal Payments currently does business in more than 200 countries and territories, the acquisition of Skrill brings the company more diversity in geography, technology and product line. Skrill is one of the largest prepaid online voucher pro- viders in Europe thanks to its paysafecard brand and its digital wallet. "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," Leonoff said in a press release following the acquisition. The move gives Optimal Payments added relevance tomerchants, players, affiliates and regulators in online gaming markets around the world. The goal, according to Leonoff, is to offer enough alternate payment op- tions so that merchants can eventually reach a 100 percent conversion rate for players. "There is a growing opportunity to help facilitate alternative payments in places where credit cards don't work as well as in other communities," Leonoff told the GPWA. "We will look to create a buffet of payment options for consumers." The move might give some affiliates the ability or confidence to work with sites they previously avoided. "Affiliates need to make decisions about who they're comfortable working with and where they're comfortable sending their traffic," Leonoff said. "Our ability to work with 100 percent of the market puts us in a place to be the right company for affiliates." According to a press release following the announced acquisition, Optimal Payments intends to augment its senior management team with Skrill executives. The deal is still subject to the satisfaction of a number of conditions, including Optimal Payments' shareholder and regulatory approvals.