Western Union buys Custom House
(12 May 2009 – Global) Western Union Company, a major player in global payments, announced that it will acquire Custom House, an independent international payment solutions provider to SMEs.
US based Western Union will take over the Canada based Custom House, for US$370 million. The all cash transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2009, subject to regulatory approvals.
Custom House is a small and emerging competitor in the business Foreign Exchange market in Australia. Australia is one of seven countries that Custom House executes international payments from, which also includes Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Singapore and New Zealand.
Western Union said that Custom House was on plan to produce US$100 million in annual revenue.
Christina Gold, president and chief executive officer of Western Union, highlighted Custom House’s significant customer base in the cross-border payments market, which generates strong margins and cash flow.
Gold added that Western Union intends to grow this business by attracting new customers and entering new geographies.
Further, Western Union detailed the strategic rationale behind the acquisition as a support to Western Union's strategic plan by entering a new growth market and diversifying its product portfolio, furthering Western Union's presence in the SME payment market, expanding its customer base, building a global line of business, and establishing strong account-to-account transfer capabilities that complement Western Union's existing cash-to-cash and account-to-cash expertise.
Peter Gustavson, Custom House chairman and founder will no longer be involved with the company once the acquisition is complete.
Custom House will become part of the Western Union Global Payments segment and continue to operate under its existing management team in Canada.
Custom House is a small and emerging competitor in the business Foreign Exchange market in Australia. Australia is one of seven countries that Custom House executes international payments from, which also includes Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Singapore and New Zealand.
Western Union said that Custom House was on plan to produce US$100 million in annual revenue.
Christina Gold, president and chief executive officer of Western Union, highlighted Custom House’s significant customer base in the cross-border payments market, which generates strong margins and cash flow.
Gold added that Western Union intends to grow this business by attracting new customers and entering new geographies.
Further, Western Union detailed the strategic rationale behind the acquisition as a support to Western Union's strategic plan by entering a new growth market and diversifying its product portfolio, furthering Western Union's presence in the SME payment market, expanding its customer base, building a global line of business, and establishing strong account-to-account transfer capabilities that complement Western Union's existing cash-to-cash and account-to-cash expertise.
Peter Gustavson, Custom House chairman and founder will no longer be involved with the company once the acquisition is complete.
Custom House will become part of the Western Union Global Payments segment and continue to operate under its existing management team in Canada.
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