Moneygram (MGI) stock surges 11.55% amid Stellar takeover FOMO

• Rumor has it MoneyGram is subject to a future acquisition
• Stellar Development Foundation is – allegedly – one of interested parties
• MoneyGram recnetly ended its partnership with Ripple, a Stellar “rival”

BELGIUM (CoinChapter.com) — MoneyGram, the renowned global money transfer service, may be acquired relatively soon. The company has attracted a lot of interest over the years yet never succeeded in finalizing the deal. However, recent interest from Stellar Development Foundation and Advent International may change that narrative in the future.

Also read: Stellar sinks to year’s most substantial support level—a wild XLM rebound ahead?

Interest In MoneyGram Surges

International remittance service providers are the lifeblood of finances in many regions.

Companies such as MoneyGram and Western Union have a global presence and continue to note impressive volumes and growth.

However, it would appear that MoneyGram is in the process of being acquired. A recent preliminary takeover interest by Advent International and Stellar Development Foundation has people talking about what may happen soon.

The interest by Stellar is not too surprising.

As a blockchain project, it is building a global network for cross-border payments. Moreover, it is one of the competitors to Ripple and its XRP ledger, a company that ended its partnership with MoneyGram several months ago. More specifically, both entities deemed it best to halt the collaboration despite transferring billions of dollars via RippleNet and On-Demand Liquidity.

Advent International, a privacy equity firm, actively invests in the payments space.

Backed projects include Worldpay and Vantiv. For now, neither Advent nor Stellar Development has commented on these rumors regarding a potential takeover. However, the news has sparked a strong MoneyGram stock surge of 11%. Thanks to this stock price surge, the company is valued at $902 million.

Interestingly, MoneyGram’s stock has been on a surge in the past year, resulting in substantial growth of 265%. It is unclear if this has anything to do with its previous XRP-Ripple partnership, although the termination of that deal hasn’t pushed the stock price down by much.

Moreover, the company’s Q4 2020 results were promising, with a record number of digital customers. 

Not The First Takeover Attempt

The current alleged interest in the company is nothing new to investors.

More specifically, MoneyGram has been subject to a potential takeover for years now. AntGroup had an agreement in place to buy the money transfer service in 2017. However, the deal no longer exists due to regulatory concerns and pushback. Since then, AntGroup has not renewed its bid on the service provider.

Last year, there were rumors of Western Union potentially acquiring the money transfer provider. Although there were never any official details regarding these rumors, it confirms MoneyGram’s position in the market. Money transfers and remittances are a significant market that will likely gain even more momentum in the decade(s) ahead.

The alleged interest by the Stellar Development Foundation is intriguing.

MoneyGram ended its partnership with Ripple, a Stellar competitor, just a few months ago. Stellar has Jed McCaleb as its CTO and co-founder, the same McCaleb who initially helped develop the Ripple protocol. However, he left that role in 2013 and co-founded Stellar Development Foundation in 2014. That angle makes these takeover rumors all the more enjoyable.