Jack Ma's Ant Financial buys MoneyGram

Ant Financial Services Group, a Chinese firm controlled by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, agreed to buy US-based payments operator MoneyGram for about 880 million dollars, the companies announced Thursday.

Ant is behind Alipay, a platform that accounts for 80 percent of electronic payments in China where it is used for e-commerce at Alibaba online venues and a large number of mobile applications.

Ant is also involved in investment services and online banking. MoneyGram specializes in wiring funds, boasts a network of 2.4 billion bank and mobile accounts along with 350,000 physical locations. Its rivals include Western Union.

Ant and MoneyGram billed their businesses as "highly complementary," and the union was said to let them reach customers in more than 200 countries and territories.

"The acquisition of MoneyGram is a significant milestone in our mission to bring inclusive financial services to users around the world," Ant chief financial officer Eric Jing said in a joint release.

MoneyGram headquarters will remain in Dallas, Texas, and operate as its own brand, but with access to the Ant's network of more than 630 million customers, according to the release.

Ant financial is offering MoneyGram stockholders 13.25 dollars in cash per share. MoneyGram shares were up nearly nine percent to 12.92 dollars on the Nasdaq exchange as the close of official trading neared on Thursday. (AFP)