Thunes to boost US footprint with acquisition of Tilia
B2B payments infrastructure firm Thunes has signed a definitive agreement to buy Tilia to fuel its expansion into the US online gaming market.
Thunes set to buy Tilia
Founded in 2019, Tilia offers acceptance and pay-out services for in-app purchases, creator economies, online games and virtual worlds.
Once the deal is finalised, Thunes will be able to leverage Tilia’s technology to offer American Express, JCB, MasterCard, UnionPay and Visa acceptance services to its customers.
Furthermore, thanks to Tilia being licensed in 48 US states and territories, Thunes’ network – which claims to enable real-time acceptance and payments through four billion bank accounts, 550 alternative payment methods (APMs) and three billion digital wallets – will thereby extend to business owners across the US.
Upon completing the acquisition, Tilia is to rebrand as Thunes and maintain operations from its headquarters in San Francisco.
As part of the transaction, Thunes and Linden Research (Linden Lab), the current majority owner of Tilia, have entered into a five-year partnership whereby Thunes will provide Linden Lab with its payment processing and payout solutions, enabling gamers to make real-time payments.
Floris de Kort, CEO of Thunes, states that the move demonstrates the fintech’s “ambition” in the US, asserting that this investment will enable the paytech to leverage “Tilia’s capabilities to provide merchants with direct money movement solutions in and out of the United States”.
Moreover, de Kort adds that Tilia’s “deep expertise” in token-based payments, online gaming and virtual worlds will accelerate the Singapore-based firm’s “growth into that fast-growing, exciting industry”.
Brad Oberwager, CEO of Linden Lab, expects the acquisition to provide the company’s customers with more “payment choices, and the ability to receive pay-outs in real-time, anywhere, into the wallet or bank account of their choice”.
The deal remains subject to regulatory approval, and the financial terms have not been disclosed.
