Optimal Payments buys Canada's FANS Entertainment

Online payment solutions provider Optimal Payments said it has acquired Montreal-based mobile platform developer FANS Entertainment Inc for C$16m.This will be paid for by the indirect issuance of Optimal Payments shares, the company said.It will issue 3.2m shares in the unnamed subsidiary to FANS and the shares will be exchangeable on a one-for-one basis into shares of Optimal Payments over the next three years, a portion of which are subject to the satisfaction of certain financial performance criteria.Optimal said the acquisition further strengthens its position in the mobile sector of the online payments industry and also provides an entry point into the events market."We have been looking for an acquisition to enhance mobile expertise such as the FANS Platform that complements our existing services for some time, and to find the ideal technology and team here on our doorstep in Montreal is fantastic," said chief executive officer Joel Leonoff."Through FANS, Optimal Payments will be able to offer innovative value-added mobile payment services globally to customers and merchants in all of our vertical markets," Leonoff added.