International payments solutions provider SafeCharge, and one of the most favored payments processor in European regulated online betting and gaming markets, is all set to takeover CreditGuard, a PCI-DSS Level 1 payment services and credit card clearing solutions provider. For an initial cash payment of $8 million (€6.8 million) and deferred settlement scheme of up to $400K (€321K), the acquisition of the Israel-based company will see SafeCharge extending its reach into new markets in which CreditGuard’s advanced payment solutions and technologies are widely used.
Once the acquisition transaction receives the necessary regulatory approval, and attains completion by January 2015, the London-listed SafeCharge will gain access to CreditGuard’s entire portfolio of Tier-One customers comprising businesses that include airlines, government agencies, key financial institutions, online gambling and betting facilities, telecommunication firms and health care providers.
The addition of CreditGuard’s global payment solutions and white-label technology business is likewise deemed as a revenue enhancing strategy. As of December 2013, CreditGuard’s audited financial reports show that the Israeli payment technology firm realized gross revenue of $2.9 million (€2.3 million), albeit Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) for the year is only at $200K (€160K).
SafeCharge CEO David Avgi’s comments conveyed that CreditGuard’s solid portfolio of customers across multiple sectors of the global market and the firm’s immense knowledge and proficiency in business IT infrastructures, networks, and security, makes it viable as an acquisition addition. The CreditGuard takeover, will accelerate SafeCharge’s entry into new verticals, as well as strengthen the company’s strong position in the dynamic Israeli market.
Only last week, SafeCharge achieved another milestone for the company’s ongoing expansion initiatives, as MasterCard Europe granted approval of the payment firm’s bid for an extension of its Principal Membership service provider activity. The approval gives the company authority to issue SafeCharge-branded prepaid MasterCards, which expands the payment method options extended as a service to customers for different online payment activities, including payments for deposits in regulated online gambling facilities operating across Europe.
Prior to the announcement of the CreditGuard acquisition, CEO Avgi had voiced his excitement over the prospect of entering into new and greater market sectors with the newly expanded product offering. After all, having the ability to issue their own SafeCharge-branded MasterCard represents a major step in building a new foundation for the company’s payment solutions and processing business.
About SafeCharge
Israeli technology entrepreneur and billionaire Teddy Sagi, who also founded one of today’s leading gambling software company Playtech, founded SafeCharge International Group Limited in 2007. Initially established as a digital wallet payment solution for online gambling transactions and services, the company had evolved into becoming one of the most reliable global providers of online payment processing services, while under the helm of David Avgi who has been CEO to the company since 2007. SafeCharge achieved another milestone this year when it received the 2014 eGR B2B Award as the “Payments Company of the Year.”
About CreditGuard Ltd.
CreditGuard was originally established in 1998 as a settlement activity subsidiary company of a leading Israeli infrastructure solutions provider called Xor Technologies. In 2008, the subsidiary company and Xor Technologies combined its resources to form a single company called CreditGuard Limited. The combined technologies and expertise of the merged companies gave CreditGuard the flexibility and capability to provide credit card clearing solutions for SME business organizations, while meeting requirements of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
