Ant Financial, the company that operates Alipay, is buying MoneyGram for $880 million, its boldest move yet in a series of partnerships and investments that signal an international ambition.
Ant is owned by the billionaire Jack Ma and is affiliated with Alibaba, the giant Chinese e-commerce company. MoneyGram will give it access to a peer-to-peer transfer market in the U.S., as well as an engine for international remittances.
"The acquisition of MoneyGram is a significant milestone in our mission to bring inclusive financial services to users around the world," Ant Financial CEO Eric Jing said in a press release Thursday. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2017.
Buoyed by China's fast-growing middle class, Ant, Alibaba and Alipay have all been spreading their wings internationally. Ant recently received a digital wallet license in Hong Kong, considered a precursor to broader international expansion. It also is working on a distributed ledger project that it hopes will expand its 450 million user base by nearly 500% over the next 10 years.
For the most part, these geographic plays have been aimed at travelers from China to the U.S. and other countries—Ant also has a deal with
Having MoneyGram under its umbrella would give Ant and its affiliates a foothold to serve non-Chinese consumers. Beyond being the main U.S. rival to Western Union, MoneyGram also has a transfer partnership with Walmart.
