Western Union makes takeover offer to MoneyGram: report
Money transfer firm Western Union has made a takeover offer to MoneyGram International, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Citing a source familiar with the process, Bloomberg reported that while a takeover offer has been submitted, "[n]o final decision has been made and Western Union could opt to not proceed with a potential deal, the person said."
The publication added that MoneyGram and Western Union declined to comment when reached. MoneyGram's stock price rose sharply during after-hours trading, according to public market data.
Should the deal go through, Western Union would acquire a business that has an existing business relationship with distributed ledger startup Ripple, which owns a 9.95% stake in Moneygram. As previously reported by The Block, MoneyGram uses Ripple's On-Demand Liquidity product to facilitate cross-border remittances, and Ripple pays Moneygram in the form of XRP as part of an incentive program focused on market development.
Western Union previously conducted a pilot program with Ripple, focused on payment settlement.
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