London-listed Optimal Payments Plc is to buy the maker of the Skrill e-wallet, the biggest competitor to its Neteller business, for an enterprise value of about 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion), it said yesterday. Optimal said the deal would expand its online payment and digital wallet services and reduce dependence on a few large customers, including its biggest in the gaming market. Skrill Group, one of the largest pre-paid online voucher providers in Europe with its paysafecard brand, reported a core profit of $89 million in the year ended September. "The U.S. (gaming) market, in particular, is just reopening and re-evolving," Chief Executive Joel Leonoff told Reuters. "Ultimately we're looking at states like Pennsylvania and California to come online and this (deal) certainly establishes us as a very relevant supplier to the industry." The shares are currently listed on London's junior AIM market but Optimal said it would seek a main market listing and inclusion in the FTSE-250 Midcap Index as soon as possible after completion of the deal, which constitutes a reverse takeover. Under the deal Optimal is buying Sentinel Topco Ltd and its units, known as Skrill Group, from Sentinel Group Holdings, ultimately owned by funds managed by private equity firm CVC Capital, Investcorp Technology Partners and other shareholders. Optimal will pay 720 million euros in cash and issue 37.5 million new shares to the owners of Skrill, valued at 135 million euros, giving Sentinel Group Holdings a 7.9 percent stake in the enlarged firm, the company said. Including net debt at Skrill of 256 million euros, Optimal said the total price being paid for Skrill is 1.1 billion euros.
