Alibaba Group's affiliate company Ant Financial has agreed to buy a U.S. money transfer service provider. When Jack Ma recently met with Donald Trump were they discussing this deal?
China's Ant Financial is spreading its influence across the Pacific Ocean by agreeing to buy the Dallas based money transfer service MoneyGram in a cash deal worth $880 million.
According to the press release the deal agreement, called a merger, will see MoneyGram stockholders offered $13.25 a share in cash. Shares in MoneyGram closed Wednesday at $11.88.
Globally Connected Network
The Chinese digital financial services group pushed into new markets throughout 2016 including in Southeast Asia and Europe as finews.asia reported.
The services of MoneyGram and Ant Financial are highly complementary. MoneyGram, which will remain headquartered in Dallas and continue to operate under its existing brand, will be able to leverage Ant Financial’s global presence and existing network to serve more than 630 million users.
Including 450 million with Alipay and 180 million with India’s leading mobile payment provider Paytm, increasing MoneyGram’s transaction volume across the Asia-Pacific region.
Financial Services Should be Simple
The transaction will also help expand Ant Financial’s business in new global markets following its recent partnerships with Paytm in India and Ascend Money in Thailand.
«The acquisition of MoneyGram is a significant milestone in our mission to bring inclusive financial services to users around the world,» said Eric Jing, Chief Executive Officer of Ant Financial. «We believe financial services should be simple, low-cost and accessible to the many, not the few,» he added.
