Western Union acquires Finint

Western Union is set to acquire one of
its leading money transfer network agents in
Europe Finint for an undisclosed sum.

Finint
currently manages more than 10,000 sub-agent locations across
Italy, Spain, and the UK. Western Union already owns 30% of the
company and has reached an agreement to acquire the remaining
70%.

The transaction is subject to regulatory
approvals and satisfaction of closing conditions. It is expected to
close in the second half of 2011.

“The acquisition of Finint is another step in
advancing our European strategies to grow the money transfer
business and introduce new products and services,” said Hikmet
Ersek, Western Union’s president and CEO.

“It represents a sound international
investment, and in combination with our previous European
acquisitions allows us to improve processes and productivity
through centralized support functions.”

Western Union expects the acquisition to be
slightly accretive to earnings in 2011 due to gains anticipated to
be recorded on the revaluation of its previous ownership interest,
partially offset by integration costs.