Hey, Big Spender – MasterCard Buys DataCash For $520 Million In Cash

Credit card juggernaut MasterCard has agreed to acquire DataCash Group in a bid to drive its e-commerce payment expansion in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and Australia. U.S.-based MasterCard, which makes money from processing credit and debit card payments on its network, said it would pay 360 pence per share for the British processor of Internet credit-card sales, representing a 54 percent premium to the company's Wednesday close. The deal represents approximately £333 million (roughly $520 million), to be paid in cash.