Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) recently announced an agreement to acquire PlaySpan Inc., a privately held company whose payments platform handles transactions for digital goods in online games, digital media and social networks around the world. The acquisition of PlaySpan complements Visa’s 2010 CyberSource acquisition and extends the company’s capabilities into one of the fastest-growing segments of eCommerce – digital and mobile commerce.
Visa will pay approximately $190 million in cash, plus additional consideration for performance milestones. PlaySpan is based in Santa Clara, California. The acquisition is expected to be completed in Visa’s fiscal second quarter 2011, pending satisfaction of customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals. The acquisition is expected to be slightly dilutive to Visa’s earnings per share in its fiscal year 2011 ending September 30, 2011. PlaySpan is backed by top-tier venture funds including Easton Capital, Menlo Ventures, Novel TMT Ventures, STIC Investments, Silicon Valley Bank Capital, Softbank China & India, TimeWarner Investments, Vodafone Ventures and GE Asset Management.
Visa buying Playspan for $190 million
