It comes only a year after Ripple announced its partnership with MoneyGram getting a 17% stake in the company’s outstanding shares. Over the last year, Ripple has reportedly paid around $52 million to MoneyGram.
In one of the major developments, San Francisco-based blockchain startup Ripple shall be cashing out 33% of its stake in remittance giant MoneyGram International Inc (NASDAQ: MGI). This comes only a year after Ripple invested a sizeable amount last year in 2019.
On Friday, November 27, the filing from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also Ripple hold 8.6% of outstanding MoneyGram shares i.e. 6.2 million shares. Additionally, it also has a warrant to buy another 5.95 million shares i.e. a total of 17% of MoneyGram’s outstanding shares.
Thus, from this entire stake, Ripple plans to share 4 million shares which are 33% of its entire position. After this liquidation, Ripple shall still be holding 11% of the stake in MoneyGram. During its initial investment in June 2019, Ripple purchased MoneyGram shares at a premium of $4.10 per share. In 2020, MoneyGram shares has already surged over 260%. On Friday closing, the MGI shares were trading at $7.42, meaning Ripple shall be pocketing 80% profit with this sell. Speaking to CoinDesk, a Ripple spokesperson said:
“Ripple is a proud partner in MoneyGram’s digital growth transformation. 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”.
Ripple has disclosed any reason behind liquidating its stake in MoneyGram. Besides, it is not clear what Ripple plans to do ahead with the proceeds of the sale.
Ripple and MoneyGram Partnership
Ripple and MoneyGram announced their partnership last year in 2019 with a common goal of bringing new technology to global remittance and expanding their footprint in the market. MoneyGram uses Ripple’s XRP-based xRapid solution that offers on-demand liquidity (ODL) for instant cross-border settlements.
MoneyGram has used Ripple’s solution to conduct transactions across Australia, the Philippines, and Europe. Since their partnership in June 2019, Ripple has paid at least $52 million to MoneyGram. The Ripple 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. In just over a year, we’ve made incredible progress and look forward to continuing to work alongside MoneyGram to transform cross-border payments.”
The latest development comes as Ripple has been planning to move its HQ out of the US citing regulatory hurdles. On the other hand, Ripple is also planning to work with central banks for offering support to future CBDCs over its XRP ledger.
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Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and holds a good flair in understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draw his attention towards the new emerging Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency markets. He is continuously in a learning process and keeps himself motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In free time he reads thriller fictions novels and sometimes explore his culinary skills.
