Oh snap. First robots and now ants. So much to fear. But wait, its China's Ant Financial (not those pesky picnic pests) that just sweetened its offer for MoneyGram. Ant raised its bid by 36% to $1.2 billion topping U.S. based Euronet Worldwide's unsolicited offer. Of course the subsidiary of Alibaba Group still has to meet U.S. security risk concerns, but it shows they are playing to win and feeling confident.
(Bill Taylor, CEO) China's Ant Financial has sweetened its bid for MoneyGram International Inc by over a third, beating a rival offer to gain approval from the U.S. electronic payment firm's board, although it still faces regulatory hurdles.
Ant's [ANTFIN.UL] plans to expand globally with the acquisition of one of the biggest firms in remittances hit a major snag last month when U.S.-based Euronet Worldwide Inc made an unsolicited offer and openly lobbied U.S lawmakers, saying Ant's proposal created a national security risk.
The finance affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd hiked its bid 36 percent to $18 per share in cash, valuing MoneyGram at around $1.2 billion.
The new offer handily beats the $15.20 per share proposed by Euronet and represents a 9 percent premium to MoneyGram's last traded share price on Thursday.
MoneyGram's shares hit a more than three-year high of $17.83 in morning trading on Monday.
Euronet said on Monday that MoneyGram's board rejected its offer on Sunday and went ahead with Ant's revised offer. Euronet said it planned to review the amended merger agreement between MoneyGram and Ant.
MoneyGram's global remittance channels for sending money overseas would help Ant build a cross-border network after a string of recent investments in Asia. But the deal must first clear the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS), which looks at acquisitions for national security risks.
CFIUS has been a stumbling block for several Chinese deals in the United States and a deal with Euronet is likely to be more agreeable to U.S. policymakers amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over trade and foreign policy...
..."CFIUS may lengthen the process...I don't think CFIUS would be a deal killer" said Jeffrey Sun, Shanghai-based partner with law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
Euronet has said Chinese ownership could compromise the relationship between law enforcement and MoneyGram when investigating money laundering and "terrorist financing".
Ant has sought to allay those fears, reiterating on Monday that any data collected on MoneyGram users in the U.S. will continue to reside on U.S.-based servers and that MoneyGram will operate as an independent unit..."