– Skrill is one of Europe’s leading digital payments businesses offering digital wallet solutions and online payment processing capabilities and is a leading pre-paid online voucher provider in Europe
– Skrill operates through its flagship brands Skrill, paysafecard and Ukash
– The company supplies solutions to a long-standing customer base spanning 40,000 merchants and over 36 million customer accounts
– Skrill reported revenues of $332mn and EBITDA of $89mn for the 12 months ended Sep 2014
– Optimal Payments is a global provider of online and mobile payment processing services deriving 48% revenues from Europe and North America
– The company operates through its two primary brands, NETBANX and NETELLER
– Optimal’s clientele includes Ladbrokes, Bet365, Asda, Sky Bet, Easy group, etc.
– Optimal reported revenues of $365mn and EBITDA of $86mn for the year ended Dec 2014
– 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 group
– Increased merchant diversification and establishing a well-rounded and broad customer base
– Complementarity in Optimal Payments’ and Skrill’s geographic areas of operation and revenue generation
– 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
– On-going cost saving synergies of $40 million per annum expected to be achieved by the end of the fiscal year ending 31 December 2016
– Arma Partners acted as exclusive financial advisors to Investcorp on the sale process
– Based on our deep banking and payments technology knowledge, Arma Partners provided Investcorp with:
- Views on the equity positioning of the combined entity post transaction;
- Market valuation guidance and updates;
- Strategic transaction implications;
- Value and consideration maximisation strategies; and
- The post-deal returns strategy