eTelcharge.com, Inc. (ETLC.OB) is a Texas-based company that provides secure payment options. Etelcharge is the first Web 2.0 payment application which leverages the convergence of landline telephony to broadband. Etelcharge’s secure online payment system gives online members the ability to charge their online purchases directly to their phone bill. Etelcharge is a great tool for online merchants as it allows them to accept purchases from customers who do not have credit cards or banking relationships.
On June 17, 2008 Etelcharge announced a definitive agreement to acquire PaymentOne. The acquisition is targeted to close in July or August of 2008 if approved by the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California. PaymentOne’s majority shareholder is The Billing Resource , which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The transaction value is approximately $13 million, along with the exchange of some Etelcharge stock options.
With the acquisition of PaymentOne, Etelcharge gets a company that has billed over $2.5 billion in client transactions through telco billings. PaymentOne also had annualized revenues of approximately $13 million. This acquisition now gives Etelcharge nationwide telco coverage and access to over 50 million subscribers. Etelcharge’s chairman and CEO Rob Howe stated, “By combining our new Etelchage 3.0’s Electronic Gift Cards and Social Networking with this acquisition, Etelcharge will have established the most versatile and powerful bill-through-phone-bill platform in the US.”
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