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Ant Financial rival company Euronet has offered to buy MoneyGram at a higher price per share

In January, Ant Financial first announced the plan to acquire US-based money transfer service MoneyGram, a process that is currently awaiting regulatory approval.

But today, Bloomberg reported that the company is considering a higher offer following an offer by rival company Euronet, which had offered US$15.20 per share. Ant Financial itself had offered a US$13.25 per share in its bid.

In a statement, Euronet CEO Michael Brown said that the company’s bid for MoneyGram is “superior” as there is a stronger possibility that it will be approved by US regulators, who are seen by analysts as “likely to be influenced” by President Donald J. Trump’s America First policy.

However, Ant Financial’s head of international operations Douglas Feagin remains confident that the deal will go through. The company stated that it has begun approval process with the US government’s committee for foreign investment (CFIUS) as soon as the deal was announced, and the process has been “going well.”

Also Read: Ant Financial to invest US$200M into Kakao’s upcoming mobile payment subsidiary

Apart from that, in a meeting with President Trump, Alibaba founder Jack Ma has stated his commitment to help create jobs in the country. Ant Financial realised this commitment by declaring that MoneyGram will be able to maintain its headquarter, management team, and employees in Dallas after the acquisition.

The MoneyGram acquisition will be the first Ant Financial has done to a US-listed company. Previously, it has acquired iris scanning company EyeVerify for a much smaller deal.

Ant Financial has also raised a US$3 billion-worth of debt to fund its M&A deals, following the first announcement on MoneyGram deal.

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Image Credit: Ant Financial

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