Ria acquires Malaysian money transfer operator IME
Ria Money Transfer (“Ria”), the third-largest global money transfer company and a subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT), today announced it has acquired IME (M) Sdn Bhd (“IME”), a leading Malaysian-based money transfer provider, and certain affiliated companies.
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The purchase will be funded primarily by cash, with a small amount of Euronet stock.
The acquisition of IME provides Ria with immediate entry into the important Asian and Middle East send markets and will allow Ria to more quickly replicate the success achieved in the U.S. and Europe over the last decade. IME is highly complementary to Ria’s existing network and adds new send markets and payout locations in some of the world’s largest and fastest growing corridors. Ria also brings more money transfer capabilities and distribution to IME and the combined volume of the two businesses provides a more compelling value proposition for new and existing business partners. Ria has a proven track record of gaining market share when entering new markets and the addition of nine new send countries in Asia and the Middle East will complement Ria’s growth.
“IME is a well-known and trusted provider of remittances in the fast-growing Asian money transfer market, with world class service for both send and payout transactions,” stated Michael J. Brown, Euronet’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “IME’s current markets account for approximately $115 billion in remittances per year according to the World Bank. IME provides an optimal geographical footprint for Ria to leverage its money transfer network, volumes and management team in order to achieve efficiencies and eliminate the learning curve when entering new markets. I am particularly excited about the combination of IME and Ria as IME has produced double-digit growth rates in the South Asian market consistent with the growth we are seeing across other money transfer markets.”
“Ria is a well-respected leader in the money transfer industry with a commitment to fast, affordable, secure money transfers. Our customers will benefit from Ria’s extensive global network of 246,000 locations. Euronet’s strong balance sheet and the combined team will help accelerate IME’s growth trajectory in the region,” stated Hem Raj Dhakal, the Managing Director of IME Malaysia.
IME's unaudited revenues were approximately $40 million for the 12 months ended March 31, 2015. It will be consolidated into Euronet’s money transfer segment and the acquisition will be accretive to cash earnings per share in the first full year of operation by approximately $0.08 to $0.10 per share.