Jack Ma’s Ant march may be worth slowing amid Euronet Worldwide competing offer

Ant Financial’s march may be worth slowing down. A $ 1 billion offer for MoneyGram from Euronet Worldwide improves on the deal it agreed to earlier this year with the payments arm of Jack Ma’s e- commerce colossus Alibaba. The interloper is in the rare position of having a few important advantages over the deep- pocketed Chinese entrepreneur.

Euronet’s offer is 15 percent higher than Ant’s proposal. It’s also 38 percent more than the three- month volumeweighted average of MoneyGram’s stock price before it disclosed the sale plan.

Unlike Ant, $ 4.4 billion Euronet can lop off some costs. It estimates them at about $ 60 million within two years. Once taxed, discounted and capitalized, they’re worth some $ 380 million today. That gives chief executive Michael Brown another $ 100 million or so of firepower before any purely financial argument for the deal starts looking like a stretch.

Moreover, Euronet ought to have an easier regulatory path to closing a deal with 77- year- old MoneyGram. Because of the sensitive nature of moving money across borders, China- based Ant could face a review from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US. That opaque process can be long and tedious. Its deal rejections sometimes surprise would- be merger partners.

The rival bid puts Ma in an awkward spot. He wants Ant to get a toehold in the US and Dallas- based MoneyGram presents a manageable way to do so. Larger rival Western Union probably would cost at least $ 12 billion, assuming a 20 percent premium. Ant, which recently arranged to borrow $ 3 billion, may not have the firepower, especially with the Chinese government making it harder to get money out of the country.

Leaving empty- handed isn’t exactly Ma’s style. Ant, however, is planning a much- awaited IPO. That would give it additional currency to strike deals. Potential new investors might even admire the patience and financial discipline.