International Money Express acquired by Western Union

Western Union agreed on 11 August 2025 to acquire International Money Express for 16 dollars per share in cash, valuing the company at an enterprise value of $500m, an EV/EBITDA multiple of 5x–12x on 2025 figures and a premium of around 50% to the ninety-day average price. The acquirer terminated the agreement on 10 November 2026 without either party owing the other any payment. California prevented the transaction. The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation had granted approval in February 2026 and extended it twice, before withdrawing it thirteen days after the second extension and issuing final conditions that Western Union judged would require material changes to its business model and to its relationships with agents. Approvals had been obtained from 54 other jurisdictions, including merger clearance in the United States and change of control filings in the United Kingdom and Spain. Founded in 1994 and based in Miami, Intermex transfers money across borders for migrants sending funds home, principally from the United States towards Latin America. Customers hand over cash at agent retailers or pay through its applications, and recipients collect at banks and shops in more than sixty countries. It serves around six million customers and generated revenue of $450–900M with an EBITDA of $50–100M and an operating profit of 58.9 million dollars in 2025. Those figures had been declining, revenue having fallen from 658.6 million dollars in 2024 and EBITDA from 108.7 million, as reduced migration into the United States and competition from digital remittance services weighed on volumes. Licensing explains both the attraction of the target and the obstacle that defeated the transaction. A money transmitter must hold authorisation in every state where it collects funds, each regulator examining the acquirer’s compliance arrangements, which gives any single state an effective veto over a national transaction. The share price closed at 6.50 dollars on the day of the termination and fell further in pre-market trading, well below the agreed price, indicating that the market had anticipated the outcome. PJT Partners advised Western Union, with Sidley Austin as legal counsel, while Financial Technology Partners advised Intermex, with Holland & Knight as counsel, and Lazard and Cravath, Swaine & Moore advised the company’s strategic alternatives committee.