MoneyGram: Whack-a-Mole of Money Transfers
“…to date MoneyGram has refused to open a meaningful dialogue with us, leaving us no choice but to make this proposal public…”
Euronet CEO’s letter to employees, December 13, 2007
In the past, MoneyGram and Western Union were often mentioned as the “monopolies” of cross-border money transfer. However, MoneyGram’s valuation was not only significantly smaller than Western Union’s but also had a multiple that was below that of any competitor.
MoneyGram’s valuation had been erratic since its IPO in 2004, even reaching near-zero levels in 2019 and 2020, until it was finally acquired by a private equity firm, Madison Dearborn Partners, in 2023:
Throughout its history, MoneyGram has stood out as the most irrational player in remittances, defying the stereotype about incumbent financial services companies being too conservative. The only explanation for such behavior could be the curse of an eternal “silver medal.”
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