Nuvei To Acquire Gaming Payments Provider Mazooma For $56 Million

Global payments technology provider Nuvei announced Friday (April 16) it plans to acquire Mazooma Technical Services, which deals in payments for gaming and sports wagering.

The Canadian company said in a news release that it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire Toronto-based Mazooma for approximately $56 million, “plus additional consideration subject to the achievement of specific performance criteria (over a maximum 3-year period from the closing date) of up to a total maximum consideration of approximately $315 million.”

According to Nuvei, roughly a quarter of the consideration will likely be paid through subordinate voting shares, with the rest to be paid in cash. The transaction still needs the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange along with customary closing conditions and is expected to close during this year’s second quarter.

Although headquartered in Canada, Mazooma operates throughout the United States, providing account-to-account payment services for gaming and sports betting customers in several states. The company is integrated with “the majority of U.S. gaming platforms and online gaming and sports betting operators,” and expected to process more than $2 billion of ACH total volume this year, Nuvei said.

“Mazooma will enhance and expand Nuvei’s portfolio of alternative payment methods with a leading ACH platform with both pay-in and pay-out functionality, developed and used exclusively for online gaming in the U.S.,” Nuvei Chair and CEO Philip Fayer said in the news release. “Because of low credit card acceptance rates, ACH is a must-have capability and solution in payments for online gaming and sports betting operators today.”

The largest payments provider in Canada, Nuvei offers customers a blend of payment technology and consulting. It operates in more than 200 markets around the world, supporting 455 local and alternative payment methods, close to 150 currencies and another 40 cryptocurrencies.

Previous Nuvei acquisitions include SafeCharge in 2019, which the company purchased for $889 million in an all-cash deal. Nuvei went public last year in Canada in an initial public offering (IPO) that had been projected to push its valuation to $3 billion.