Ripple Set to Sell Part of MoneyGram Stake

Payments giant Ripple is mulling selling a stake in MoneyGram.

Ripple Set to Sell Part of MoneyGram Stake

According to a report by The Block published on November 28, Ripple is poised to sell one-third of its stake in MoneyGram for the first time. Notably, the firm invested in the remittance firm last year.

According to a filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ripple has authorized an unnamed financial institution to sell up to 4 million shares of MoneyGram on its behalf by March 31, 2020.

It is worthy of note that after the sale, Ripple would still officially own 2.3 shares of MoneyGram and a warrant that would give it the right to purchase extra 5.9 million shares. This would put Ripple’s total shares to about 8.2 million.

Speaking in terms of percentage, Ripple is selling 33% of its stake (including warrant shares). Despite the sale, Ripple would still hold close to 67% of the stake (12.2 million minus 4 million shares).

Speaking to The Block, a Ripple spokesperson noted:

“This is purely a judicious financial decision to realize some gains on Ripple’s MGI [Moneygram International] investment and is in no way a reflection of the current state of our partnership.”

It must also be remembered that since Ripple’s purchase in MoneyGram, the latter’s stock price has skyrocketed to say the least. In June 2019, when Ripple bought the MoneyGram shares, they were trading at $4.10 apiece compared to about $7.45, their current market price.

Ripple to Continue Being a Significant Shareholder in MoneyGram

In a statement issued to The Block, the spokesperson said:

“We will remain a significant shareholder in MoneyGram following the sale — they are clearly a leader in the global payments space in over 200 countries and territories.”

Adding:

“In just over a year, we’ve made incredible progress and look forward to continuing to work alongside MoneyGram to transform cross-border payments.”

As previously reported by BTCManager, Ripple completed its $50 million equity investment in MoneyGram in November last year.

In similar news, BTCManager reported that UAE-based commercial bank, RAKBank had partnered with Bangladesh-based Bank Asia to create a remittance corridor using Ripple’s blockchain-powered solution.