EXCLUSIVE— Ant Financial’s proposed merger with American company MoneyGram is officially dead: and, as of now, the money transfer service is out of suitors for a potential acquisition.
The company’s other potential option for an acquisition, electronic payments provider Euronet, is hesitant to make another offer even after yesterday’s reports that U.S. regulators blocked Ant Financial from completing its deal.
A statement by Euronet, released yesterday after “numerous inquiries regarding Euronet’s intentions,” reads:
Euronet continues to believe there is compelling commercial logic to a combination between Euronet and MoneyGram. However, significant developments have been disclosed by MoneyGram since Euornet’s offer and Euronet has not conducted any evaluation of the business in that time. While we continue to view a transaction with MoneyGram as logical, there is no guarantee any offer will be made or any transaction will ultimately occur.
Previous to regulatory intervention, Euronet had issued multiple opposing statements on the proposed merger with Ant Financial — which, from its base in China, operates the country’s popular mobile payment service Alipay — and MoneyGram, citing concerns for national security.
As Bank Innovation reported in July 2017, regulators including CFIUS, the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, had similar concerns, forcing the companies to re-file their $1.2 billion deal for review.
This move was viewed by some as a permanent roadblock to the merger: rightly so as it turns out, as CFIUS officially shut down the companies’ joint proposals yesterday due to heightened concerns over the privacy of U.S. citizen data.
Alex Holmes, CEO for MoneyGram, said in a statement yesterday:
Despite our best efforts to work cooperatively with the U.S. government, it has now become clear that CFIUS will not approve this merger. We are disappointed in the termination of this compelling transaction, which would have created significant value for our stakeholders.
While MoneyGram’s hopes for an acquisition seem to be dashed at the present, the company will continue to work with Ant Financial on “strategic initiatives” regarding remittance and digital payments, according to yesterday’s statement.
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