MoneyGram has inked a definitive agreement to be acquired by private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP) in an all-cash deal worth around $1.8 billion.
Funds affiliated with MDP will acquire all outstanding shares of MoneyGram for $11 per share - a premium of approximately 50% to MoneyGram's closing stock price on 14 December just before speculation about a possible sale began.
Shares in the money transfer firm hit $10.60 today, up more than 18%.
Alex Holmes, CEO, MoneyGram, says: "By partnering with MDP and becoming a private company, we will have greater opportunities to innovate and transform MoneyGram to lead the industry in cross-border payment technology and deliver a more expansive set of digital offerings, while leveraging our global platform for new customers and use cases."
MoneyGram was almost bought in 2017 by China's Ant Financial but the $1.2 billion agreement failed to pass muster with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Then, in 2020 Bloomberg reported that it was close to being scooped up by larger rival Western Union.