Digital payments firm Visa is reportedly in advanced discussions regarding a potential multimillion-pound acquisition of British fraud detection company Featurespace.
The deal could be worth more than £700m, reported Sky News, citing undisclosed sources with knowledge of the matter. The news agency also said that some insiders believe the final figure could be significantly lower.
However, the sources also noted that a formal agreement has not yet been finalised, and the deal remains at risk of being cancelled.
The reports concerning the potential transaction come days after the company’s former non-executive director and tech investor, Mike Lynch, passed away when his superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily.
Lynch’s investment firm, Invoke Capital, owns a small stake in Featurespace.
Featurespace stated: “It is a high statistical probability that Featurespace wouldn’t be a thriving technology company without Mike. Our co-founders, Professor Bill Fitzgerald and Dave Excell, were inspired by Mike’s combination of intellect and commercial acumen.
“They benefitted from his friendship and guidance. Mike’s personal investment in Featurespace supported the development of an invention that has proved fundamental in the progress of AI and he served as a Non-Executive Director for over 10 years from 2008 – 2019.”
Established in 2008, Featurespace offers enterprise technology that prevents fraud and financial crime. The firm empowers banks and financial institutions to safeguard customers.
It also helps in mitigating risk and business operating costs by offering machine learning, fraud, and financial crime prevention solutions through its ARIC Risk Hub.
Featurespace has also developed Adaptive Behavioral Analytics and Automated Deep Behavioral Networks to combat fraud and financial crime. The latter offers an enhanced layer of protection from scams, account takeover, and card and payments fraud.
The company’s clients include HSBC, NatWest, TSYS, Worldpay, Contis, Akbank, Danske Bank and others.
Last year, Featurespace rolled out ARIC Scam Detect to protect the financial services industry and its customers from the continued threat of scams.
Built upon its Adaptive Behavioral Analytics, ARIC Scam Detect provides the industry with the tools required to continuously adapt and outsmart scammers from all scam types in real-time.
Earlier this month, PAYSTRAX joined forces with Featurespace to improve security measures against fraudulent activities. PAYSTRAX is a payment processing solution provider for merchants across the European Union and the UK.
