MasterCard Inc set to buy DataCash Group Plc

The online casino industry witnessed one of the year’s most significant deals this month. MaterCard Inc, one of the globe’s most high profile and powerful payment networks announced that it would be buying DataCash Group Plc. The announcement, which arrived on August 19th, has grabbed the attention of the entire gaming community which continues to wrestle with the development of increasingly secure deposit options for online casino customers.

The takeover will see MasterCard lay out a total sum of £333 million ($517 million) for the UK based credit card transactions processor. The stated value was based on 360 pence per share – a figure which approximates to 52% more than DataCash’s published closing price for the past month. The deal is expected to be conducted via the MasterCard/Europay U.K. Ltd. Unit.

Commenting on the imminent acquisition, DataCash’s Ashley Head called the deal a “significant opportunity for DataCash to drive increased adoption of our platforms and programs internationally." Chief Executive Officer of Mastercard, Ajay Banga, echoed Head. A public statement from Banga argued that the acquisition will "expand our already significant e-commerce merchant gateway presence in Asia and Australia to European countries and other high-growth, emerging markets worldwide." He added that the e-commerce industry is still in its infancy and that “the story of e-commerce is only being written now." With so many powerful and significant players involved, it is clear that all eyes will be monitoring the progress of the company very closely indeed. It remains to be seen how MasterCard’s competitors will respond to the expansion of one of the world’s most powerful payment corporations.