Visa, a New York-listed debit card provider, has agreed to acquire PlaySpan, a US-based operator of payments within computer games, for $190m in cash excluding performance fees – or more than four times its investors’ money.
Playspan provides developers and publishers, such as Nickelodeon, a platform to manage micropayments, e-commerce, and micro-transactions in 180 countries.
Last year, Visa bought CyberSource and said about 45% of all online spending in the US went through its network.
In August, PlaySpan raised $18m in its series C funding from a consortium including two strategic investors. Vodafone Ventures, the corporate venturing division of UK-listed mobile phone operator Vodafone, and a subsidiary of Japan-based conglomerate Softbank co-led the round, and were joined by repeat venture capital investors Menlo Ventures, STIC Investments and Novel TMT Ventures.
Softbank China & India’s Bodhi Investments fund, an early-stage investor in Asia, was the investment division for Softbank.
In November 2008, Playspan said it had raised $16.8m in its series B round from US-based VCs Easton Capital Group and Menlo Ventures; Asian investors Novel TMT Ventures, the $70m technology, media and telecom investment unit of Hong Kong-based conglomerate Novel Group, and STIC International, the global investment division of a South Korea state-backed VC; and other undisclosed investors. Its other investors are now understood to include publisher TimeWarner’s corporate venturing unit, lender Silicon Valley Bank and US-listed conglomerate General Electric, according to the company.
Playspan said in November 2008 it had raised $24m to that date, although news provider PEHub said it had previously raised about $28m.