The Stellar Foundation is considering taking over the payment service provider MoneyGram together with the private equity firm Advent. The rivalry between Ripple and Stellar gets even more explosive.
According to media reports, the Stellar Development Foundation is working with global private equity firm Advent International to acquire leading money transfer company MoneyGram. A report von Bloomberg relies on sources with knowledge of the intentions of the non-profit organization. However, it is not yet clear from the report how exactly the takeover talks will develop.
The takeover is interesting not least because MoneyGram recently ended its important partnership with Stellar rival Ripple. The trigger for this is the dispute with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which Ripple has brought to court over its allegedly illegal XRP sales. Then Ripple went and immediately sold his entire stake in MoneyGram, like one Publication of the SEC can be found. The irony of the story is that Stellar was launched by Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb in 2014. He had turned his back on Ripple after disputes with his former colleagues.
Not only, but also because of ongoing quarrels about their co-founder, Ripple and Stellar have been in a clinch for years. A settlement he ended up in a seven-year agreement with Ripple Labs. McCaleb is now allowed to sell 1.5 percent of the total daily XRP volume. Stellar and Ripple are also rivals because they have a lot in common. In any case, the news about the MoneyGram takeover should not give the two companies any reason to smoke the pipe of peace.
Western Union also interested in MoneyGram acquisition
With the Stellar Network, Stellar operates a blockchain-based platform that makes it easier for consumers and institutions to transfer funds. The San Francisco-based company already showed expansion efforts in May. It invested $ 15 million in AirTM, a digital wallet and peer-to-peer exchange platform based in Mexico.
Stellar is by no means the first payment service provider whose interest MoneyGram has drawn. Rumors of a possible takeover of the 81-year-old money transfer giant have been circulating for years. Direct competitor Western Union reportedly made a takeover bid last year. Alibaba-owned Ant Group tried to take over MoneyGram in 2017. The company under the wing of Jack Ma offered 1.2 billion US dollars for the payment service provider at the time. But because the US regulatory authorities feared an impending monopoly position for the merged company, they blocked the deal.