MoneyGram reviews private equity bids-sources

MoneyGram International

25/01/2022 14:28

By Greg Roumeliotis
    Jan. 25 (Reuters) - Private equity firms Madison Dearborn
Partners LLC, Siris Capital Group LLC and Advent International
Corp have made competing offers to acquire MoneyGram
International Inc  MGI.O , according to people familiar with the
matter.
    The Dallas-based company embarked on a review of its options
after Madison Dearborn offered $10.50 per share in cash to
acquire it, the sources said. Advent had also expressed interest
last year in taking over the company, the sources added.
    MoneyGram set a Jan. 24 deadline to receive binding
acquisition offers, and expects to decide on whether it will
sell itself in the coming days, according to the sources.
    It's not clear how much MoneyGram, one of the world's
largest money transfer companies with a market value of $850
million, will end up selling for. 
    The sources, who requested anonymity to discuss the
confidential matter, cautioned that no deal is certain.
    Spokespeople for MoneyGram, Madison Dearborn, Siris and
Advent did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
    MoneyGram has become an acquisition target as intense
competition from digital rivals such as Remitly Global Inc
 RELY.O  and Revolut has weighed on its ability to capitalize on
the growing market for payments and remittances.
    MoneyGram, which according to its website has served 150
million people in the last five years, has been focusing on
digital payments as an area of growth. In October, it announced
a blockchain partnership that relies on financial technology
firm Circle's USD Coin, one of the world's fastest-growing
dollar digital currencies. Earlier this month, it unveiled
another partnership with Japanese financial technology firm
Digital Wallet Corp to facilitate international money transfers.
    A $1.2 billion deal for China's Ant Financial to acquire
MoneyGram was blocked by the United States in January 2018 on
national security concerns. MoneyGram shares took a hit as a
result, but have since recovered. They have surged 43% in the
last 12 months, compared with a 2% rise in the Nasdaq Composite
index.
    

 (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York
Editing by Bernadette Baum)
 ((Greg.Roumeliotis@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6022; Reuters
Messaging: greg.roumeliotis.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))