Neteller Resurgent

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Published: Thursday, August 16, 2007 mgowanbo.cc

e-Wallet expanding eastward with Aussie deal

With its US market exit and the hassles with the American legal authorities now almost behind it, the Isle of Man e-wallet Neteller has gone up a gear in its international expansion strategy with the announcement this week of a new Asia-Pacific involvement.

Describing itself as an independent global online payments business, the AIM-listed company disclosed this week that it has recently completed the acquisition of a strategic stake in Centricom Pty Limited. The key points of the investment are:

* Centricom operates the POLi payment platform in Australia and New Zealand.
* Neteller will pay a total of AUD$ 5 million (approximately US$ 4 million) for a significant equity position in Centricom.
*The deal extends Neteller's expertise as a payments hub for its merchants initially in the Asia Pacific region.
* Centricom Pty Limited is an Australian company based in Melbourne that provides a range of web-based transaction services, including online payments, straight-through processing, reconciliation and advanced transaction integration solutions.

Under the terms of the agreement, Neteller has agreed to invest a sum of AUD$ 5 million in consideration of a minority stake holding in Centricom, on a fully diluted basis. As part of the investment, Neteller will appoint one director to the Centricom board.

Through an existing partnership, Neteller has already introduced the POLi service to its Australian customers back in January 2007 as a safe and convenient method of payment direct from their bank accounts. The POLi system allows customers to make payments online, from their existing internet banking service, without disclosing their bank or credit card details to the merchant.

Centricom is backed by a strong financial partner in the Melbourne-based Jagen Group. Jagen is an international investment group with interests across a broad range of industries in the United States, Europe and the Asia Pacific region, and it will continue to own the majority shareholding in Centricom following the Neteller investment, along with Centricom's directors and employees.

This investment furthers the Neteller Group's presence in the important and expanding Asia Pacific online payment market, says President and CEO Ron Martin.

“We are pleased to cement our existing relationship with Centricom through this investment," Martin commented. "We look forward to working with Centricom to drive the business through its next phase of growth.

"Neteller will continue to seek out strategic relationships with companies such as Centricom who offer compelling products and services that enhance our innovative online payment solutions to our global customers and merchants.”

Simon Warner, Managing Director of Centricom, said “We welcome the investment from NETELLER as a milestone in our development which will enable us to roll out the POLi service to more merchants and build further consumer brand awareness. This partnership is further evidence that Centricom is serious about being the major provider of online payments in Australia, New Zealand and beyond.”

Since its launch in October 2004, Centricom has been steadily building and refining its online payments business. The POLi service now operates in three countries; Australia, New Zealand and, with its partner ATM Solutions, South Africa.