MoneyGram "offers to give Euronet confidential info" to firm up sale bidMarch 20, 2017 - 10:08 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. electronic payments company MoneyGram International Inc has offered to share confidential information with peer Euronet Worldwide Inc, after the latter made a $1 billion acquisition offer, people familiar with the matter said, according to Reuters. MoneyGram has found that Euronet's cash offer of $15.20 per share, which was unveiled last week, could be expected to result in a superior proposal compared with a deal it agreed to in January to sell itself to China's Ant Financial Services Group for $13.25 a share in cash, the people said on Sunday, March 19. Before Euronet carries out its due diligence on MoneyGram, it will have to agree to the terms of a non-disclosure agreement, the people added. Negotiations on such a confidentiality pact may take several days, the people cautioned. Euronet is then expected to take about a week going through MoneyGram's books before firming up its offer, the people said. MoneyGram will also receive information from Euronet that will allow it to better assess potential antitrust risks to such a deal, the sources added. Should MoneyGram declare Euronet's bid superior, Ant Financial will have four business days to decide whether it wants to improve its offer. The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Euronet, MoneyGram and Ant Financial declined to comment. Based in Dallas, MoneyGram is one of the biggest players in the global remittance market. An acquisition would enable Euronet to better compete against digital startups that are transforming the money transfer business. Euronet has also argued that MoneyGram's focus on large retailers and national post offices, combined with Euronet's strong position with independent agents and its broad set of consumer payment solutions, would create a more valuable business. Ant Financial, the financial services affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N), dominates China's online payment market and has been ramping up investment overseas amid fierce rivalry at home with peers such as Tencent Holdings Ltd's (0700.HK) popular WeChat Pay. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |