EFT Canada Inc. has completed its acquisition of the credit card gateway of privately held Linterna Technologies Ltd., the companies announced Sept. 2.
The companies, both based in Toronto, first announced their acquisition agreement on July 12.
Merchants may use Linterna’s proprietary Java-based software to establish a Web-based point-of-sale interface to process credit card transactions and to operate mobile e-wallet options. EFT Canada plans to integrate the software with its existing transaction-processing platform, enabling customers to take advantage of the broader set of capabilities without the need to replace existing technology, the company noted in a press release.
EFT Canada believes the acquisition will allow it to significantly increase gross revenues. It initially will market the product to its existing customer base, according to the release.
“EFT Canada looks forward to taking our strengthened capabilities to the marketplace and further delivering transaction-processing software to our customers,” Jonathan Pasternak, the company’s president, stated in the release. “We will continue to look for acquisitions which broaden our product line and is synergistic with existing client needs.”
The transaction processor paid Linterna C$650,000 by way of C$325,000 in cash and C$325,000 payable in common shares of EFT Canada at a price of 30 cents per share for 1.08 million total shares. The remaining cash payment of C$200,000 is due on the beginning of the 13th month following the closing date and is subject to delay and reduction if operating targets are not met. EFT Canada completed the acquisition using existing capital resources, according to the release.
In addition, EFT Canada will pay Linterna 5 cents per credit card transaction processed for a period of three years following the closing date. Such payments shall not exceed a combined amount of C$330,000 and also are subject to reduction if operating targets are not met, the release states.
James Watt, a Linterna principal, entered into a two-year consulting agreement with EFT Canada, which also has completed the previously announced hiring of additional information-technology personnel to support the new credit card gateway platform.
