Ant Financial Considers Higher MoneyGram Bid  

Will Ant march its bid higher?

In a bidding war that may escalate, Ant Financial is looking at whether it wants to bid higher for MoneyGram International, a scenario that plays out against a recent offer from Euronet Worldwide. Bloomberg cited an unnamed source familiar with the deal and the machinations behind it.

The original deal from Ant came through in January, where the bid was $13.25 in a cash offer. There is much to be done in the way of regulatory approval, and the new bid from Euronet comes in at $15.20 as of last week.

MoneyGram seemed to be interested in the new deal, with a statement that it “could reasonably be expected” to be a superior proposal. Yet the newswire quoted Douglas Feagin, who heads Ant’s international units, as stating that he is confident that his firm’s deal will be accepted. The unnamed source said that Ant may take somewhat of a wait-and-see approach as its rival carries out what is known as due diligence — and they may pounce with a new bid.

As has been widely reported, one issue that may sway acceptance of a deal is the fact that the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment will scrutinize the bid. Scrutiny might be tough amid the Trump administration’s “America First” policy. Ant has said, per the newswire, that talks with the panel have been proceeding apace. Time will be tight as Ant has only four days to respond if MoneyGram decides to march down the aisle with Euronet.