Global electronic payment service provider Euronet Worldwide has come to an agreement to acquire UK based international Payments and foreign Exchange firm HiFX for the amount of £145 million ($242 million).
Acquiring HiFX will allow Euronet to offer an account-to-account international payment service for high-income individuals and SMBs as well as to continue to offer its existing consumer-to-consumer money transfer service. With HiFX, Euronet will be able to offer its affordable exchange rates, market leading security and an innovative multi-channel platform. Utilizing such a platform will allow customers to place, track, and manage international payment activities either online or with a support representative.
"HiFX is a fast-growing leader in the cross-border payments sector. Their online presence, affordable rates, and deep knowledge of foreign exchange markets and account-based transfers will complement Ria, our consumer-to-consumer money transfer brand. The acquisition of HiFX gives us access to the 9.9 billion payment transaction market, which is dominated by more traditional financial service providers. The strength of the combined companies will allow both HiFX and Ria to broaden their product offerings, extend their geographic reach, and improve their online platforms, providing clients with a faster, easier to use and more convenient customer experience - in turn, increasing our market share in the fastest growing portion of the international payments space," stated Michael J. Brown, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Euronet Worldwide, Inc.
25% of the £145 million will be paid in shares of Euronet stock with the remaining balance in cash. The acquisition is expected to be finalized after customary regulatory approval by the end of Q2 2014.
"Euronet is a truly global e-payments company and we share many common values. Their industry leading money transfer expertise, existing bank relationships, global market entry expertise and strong balance sheet give us enormous scale to realize our ambitions for the business and continue to build a global foreign exchange company based on consistent bank-beating exchange rates, innovative technology and world-class customer service," added Matthew Knowles, Chief Executive Officer of HiFX.
