Ant Financial raises MoneyGram bid by 36%

Bloomberg

Ant Financial raised its agreed offer for MoneyGram International Inc. by 36 percent as the financial-services company controlled by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma tries to top a competing offer and overcome security concerns.
The revised bid is worth $18 a share in cash, up from a previous offer of $13.25, the companies said in a joint statement. The new deal, which has the backing of MoneyGram’s board, values all the common and preferred stock at $1.2 billion, it said. Euronet Worldwide Inc. last month offered $15.20 a share for the Dallas-based payments company.
By raising its bid such a large amount, Ant Financial is making clear its intention of completing a deal, said Doug Feagin, Ant’s international president. But the Chinese company could still face potential political obstacles, with American lawmakers urging the powerful Committee on Foreign Investment in the US to conduct a “full and thorough” review of the deal.
“You have two issues; what are MoneyGram shareholders going to receive? And that’s what Ant Financial is addressing with a revised bid,” said Kirk Boodry, an analyst at New Street Research. “Politics is the other issue that really stands out here and Chinese companies have struggled to get deals done in the US.”
Euronet has said its offer has a better chance at regulatory approval. The Leawood, Kansas-based company didn’t immediately respond to calls and emailed requests for comment outside normal business hours. Shares of MoneyGram closed Thursday at $16.51.
President Donald Trump has taken a hard stance on China since assuming office, increasing the chance Ant Financial’s bid will be closely scrutinized by CFIUS, an inter-agency panel that examines acquisitions of companies by foreign investors. The White House can stop the deal, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is the chairman of the panel.
Ant Financial’s bid is a clear shot across the bow against Euronet, which directly raised security concerns with Mnuchin and has said doubts around approval are a key reason why MoneyGram shareholders should reject its Chinese rival’s offer.
“We wanted to speak with conviction that this is something strategic for us,” Feagin told Bloomberg News. “We intend to move to get closed and to be successful here.” The company expects the deal to close in the second half of 2017. While Feagin said the regulatory approval process had been “constructive” so far, it couldn’t provide a more specific time frame on when it would be completed. Some provisions, such as fees to be paid if the deal falls apart, have changed to match the increased value of the new offer.
MoneyGram Chief Executive Officer Alex Holmes said Euronet’s binding bid came in on Friday, allowing his board to consider it alongside Ant Financial’s improved offer.
“It made lot of sense to us at $13.25 and certainly it makes the same amount of sense, if not more now, for shareholders now at $18,” he said. “If Euronet chooses to continue forward or make another offer it’s really entirely up to them.”
Holmes said price and approval risk were the key points of contention for both bids. While CFIUS approval is more of an issue for Ant Financial, antitrust regulators from the US and Europe could slow or scuttle Euronet’s offer.
Ant Financial first announced its move in January as it steps up an international expansion to build on its strength in China. Formally known as Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group Co., it has hundreds of millions of users and provides wealth management, insurance, credit checks and consumer loans. It also owns Alipay, the dominant payments platform on China’s largest e-commerce operator.