Monitise says approached about potential sale, merger

By Noor Zainab Hussain (Reuters) - British mobile banking software maker Monitise Plc said on Friday it has received "a number of expressions of interest" after putting itself up for sale. A former high-tech darling, Monitise has in recent times come up against tough competition from the free mobile payment systems offered by the likes of Google Inc and Apple Inc. The company said that, among the expressions of interest received, potential transactions included a merger with a third party or a sale of the company. It did not identify potential suitors or partners. The announcement prompted a 22 percent jump in the company's shares, although they later reversed course to fall nearly 7 percent to 13.8125 pence, their lowest in five years. More than 120 million shares had changed hands by 1528 GMT. Monitise, founded in 2003, blazed a trail by linking banks and mobile operators to build a business capable of handling more than $70 billion a year in mobile payments, purchases and money transfers. The company provides software for mobile devices that allows clients of banks, including Royal Bank of Scotland and Banco Santander, to pay for goods and services. But on Thursday, the company posted its third revenue warning in a year, citing its switch last year to a subscription model from one based on licences. Shares of Monitise have shed 65 percent of their value since mid-September, when Visa Inc, then the company's biggest customer, revealed plans to divest its stake. Monitise has hired Moelis & Co to conduct an "all encompassing" strategic review that will include a range of corporate transactions and stock market listing options. The company has tie-ups with MasterCard Inc and IBM, both of which have been cited by analysts as possible suitors. Neither MasterCard nor IBM could immediately be reached for comment. Thomas Noyes, a financial technology investor and former head of channels at Citigroup's Global Consumer Group, said he believed IBM would only be interested at a "pretty low price" and that Monitise would not be a natural fit for MasterCard. "Ninety percent of Monitise's focus is online banking, and that's not what MasterCard does," he said. (Editing by Robin Paxton)