With consumers and retailers alike demanding faster, more secure transactions than ever before, international payment platforms have become big business. To understand just how big, look no further than the recent announcement that cross-border digital P2P provider MoneyGram is to be acquired by private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners.
Under the details of the acquisition, Madison Dearborn is expected to purchase all outstanding MoneyGram shares for $11 each, with the total value of the all-cash transaction estimated at $1.8 billion. At the conclusion of the arrangement, MoneyGram will become a private company once again, and its estimated $800 million in debt will be refinanced by its new owners. Debt financing for the transaction was provided by Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and Barclays.
From the perspective of MoneyGram leadership, this acquisition is a positive move forward for the company. “By partnering with MDP and becoming a private company,” CEO Alex Holmes said in an announcement about the acquisition, “we will have greater opportunities to innovate and transform MoneyGram to lead the industry in cross-border payment technology.” Holmes went on to tease a new series of international digital offerings by MoneyGram that will be facilitated by the acquisition by Madison Dearborn.
