First MoneyGram, next the Federal Reserve

If only that was a joke... Chinese Takeover Bid for US-based MoneyGram Scrutinized.  The financial industry is closely watching Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial's attempt to acquire Dallas-based MoneyGram International, the world's second biggest money transfer company after Western Union.  Ant is offering $1.2 billion, more than U.S.-based competitor Euronet Worldwide.  If successful, the deal would turn Ant Financial into a financial behemoth with access to MoneyGram's vast network of 350,000 outlets of retail shops, post offices and banks across 200 countries. At present, Ant's business is largely based on the Chinese yuan.  The acquisition would also give it access to U.S. dollar funds and escrow accounts for managing the funds.  “If you look at MoneyGram, what they might be doing here (to Ant Financial) is bringing a unique extra key that has much to do with that escrow account surplus and be able to hold a lot of dollars,” Jacob Cooke, chief executive officer of Web Presence in China, told VOA. “That, of course, will give them access to a whole bunch more opportunities to Ant's financial services.” VOA