On January 26, 2017, MoneyGram International, Inc., a Dallas, TX based provider of money transfer services, entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Alipay (UK) Limited, a United Kingdom limited company (“Parent”), Matrix Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Alipay,  and Alipay (Hong Kong) Holding Limited, whereby MoneyGram International will merge into Matrix Acquisition Corp., surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of Alipay (UK) (See MoneyGram International Form 8-K, Jan. 26, 2017, SEC Filing.)  Alipay, a global mobile payment platform, is a subsidiary of Ant Financial Services Group, a digital financial services provider based in China and reportedly controlled by Chinese national Jack Ma, who is also the controlling owner of the Alibaba Group.  (See MoneyGram International Press Release, MoneyGram Agrees to Merge with Ant Financial, Jan. 26, 2017; Bloomberg News, Jack Ma’s Ant Financial Buys MoneyGram for $880 Million, Jan. 26, 2017.) According to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) Approval is is a condition for closing and the parties will submit a notification by February 23, 2017.  (See Agreement and Plan of Merger, Sections 5.5(a)(vi)(B); 6.1(c), in MoneyGram International Form 8-K, Ex-2.1, Jan. 26, 2017, SEC Filing.)  If the merger is terminated because “CFIUS Approval has not been obtained, [Alipay (UK)] would be required to pay the [MoneyGram International] a termination fee of $17.5 million.” (MoneyGram International, Form 8-K, Jan. 26, 2017, SEC Filing.)

Status:  Upcoming/New Filing

Acquirer:  Ant Financial (China)

Acquired:  MoneyGram International, Inc.  (US)

Value:  US$880 million

Industry:  Financial Services