UK money transfer firm WorldFirst has shuttered its US operations to ward off any regulatory objections to a proposed take over by Ant Financial
The immediate shutdown was announced on the firm's US Website: "The WorldFirst shareholders have taken the decision to discontinue with the US operations. As such, we will no longer be able to offer our products and services to you."
The company is rebranding the US operation as Omega, which it says will operate independently of WorldFirst.
With a reported $700 million deal on the table, WorldFirst is wary of stirring up US antipathy to Chinese investments in technology companies.
A previous attempt by Ant Financial to take over Moneygram was blocked by US lawmakers citing data privacy and security concerns