Visa Acquiring Payments Firm PlaySpan For $190M

Visa announced an agreement to acquire Silicon Valley-headquartered PlaySpan, which operates a payments platform targeting online games, digital media, and social networks, for $190 million. Founded in 2006, PlaySpan provides a monetization-as-a-service platform that includes fraud and risk management, analytics, merchandizing, and global payment connectivity features for online purchases such as virtual currency, subscriptions, and digital goods. Its UltimatePay product allows consumers to buy virtual goods online using more than 85 global payment methods in 180 countries. PlaySpan also sells Ultimate Game Cards, prepaid cards available in over 50,000 retail locations across North America and other countries. Visa notes that this acquisition complements its purchase of online payments firm CyberSource last year, extending its capabilities in the growing digital and mobile commerce sector. It also claims that some 45 percent of online spending in the U.S. currently takes place on its network. Along with the $190 million in cash on the table, Visa has agreed to "additional consideration for performance milestones" with the PlaySpan takeover. The credit card company expects to complete the acquisition in its fiscal second quarter in 2011 (ending March 31).