MoneyGram (MGI) Up Nearly 9% Since News of Alibaba Acquisition
Alibaba Group Holding LTd (NYSE:BABA) affiliate, Ant Financial Services Group, agreed to merge with MoneyGram International (NASDAQ: MGI) today, January 25, 2017. This is in wake of the ongoing dominance Ant Financial has in China as being the largest premium third party payment platform.
The transaction will connect
The merger is valued at approximately
On the merger, Ant CEO Eric Jing said, “The acquisition of
This would be Ant Financial’s second acquisition in the United States. Last year, the company bought EyeVerify, a maker of optical verification technology used by U.S. banks. It has been reported that Ant is going down the IPO path, but wants to focus on strong international growth first. Jack Ma, executive chairman of BABA, to which Ant Financial is an affiliate, said, “For IPO, for where, how and when, we haven’t figured it out yet. But I know someday, we will be going for it.” That comment and two acquisitions certainly substantiate that.