The Western Union Company
Acquisitions
3
Major Deals Covered
$870M
Disclosed Deal Value
Western Union's largest disclosed acquisition here is International Money Express (Intermex) (pending) for $500M in 2025. This page covers 3 major deals from 2009 to 2025, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| International Money Express (Intermex) (pending) | 2025 | $500.0M | Strengthen Western Union's retail remittance business from the U.S. to Latin America and the Caribbean. |
| Custom House | 2009 | $370.0M | Add a business-to-business cross-border payments platform. |
| Travelex Global Business Payments | 2011 | Undisclosed | Western Union bought the business payments division of Travelex in 2011. |
2025
$500M
Strengthen Western Union's retail remittance business from the U.S. to Latin America and the Caribbean.
Management expected synergies from the deal. On the Q2 2026 call, it said the delayed close had pushed those synergies out.
Pending. NYDFS approved the deal in August 2026, but California's DFPI suspended its approval extension on August 13, 2026.
2011
Western Union bought the business payments division of Travelex in 2011.
It became the core of Western Union Business Solutions, which served companies making cross-border payments.
Completed in November 2011 for about 606 million pounds. Western Union sold the business unit in 2021.
2009
$370M
Add a business-to-business cross-border payments platform.
Became part of Western Union Business Solutions.
Business Solutions was sold to Goldfinch Partners and The Baupost Group for $910 million and renamed Convera.
Management calls its approach a dual-track strategy. One track is cutting operating costs in the legacy business. The other is investing in branded digital transfers, consumer services such as bill pay and travel money, and a planned U.S. dollar stablecoin. The Intermex acquisition is meant to strengthen retail remittances from the U.S. to Latin America.
Western Union earns money mainly from transfer fees and from the margin between the exchange rate it gives customers and its own cost of currency. Most transfers are still sent or paid out through third-party agent locations, which receive commissions. Branded digital transfers through westernunion.com and the app made up 32% of Consumer Money Transfer revenue and 43% of its transactions in Q2 2026. A second segment, Consumer Services, covers bill payments, travel money, and related products.
In 2009, Western Union acquired Canadian cross-border payments specialist Custom House for $370 million, forming the initial foundation of its Western Union Business Solutions enterprise division.
Western Union acquired Travelex Global Business Payments for £606 million ($970 million USD) in 2011 to expand its B2B corporate international payments and foreign exchange hedging services.
Western Union sold its Business Solutions division to Goldfinch Partners and The Baupost Group for $910 million in cash, divesting corporate cross-border payments to refocus strictly on consumer remittances.
In May 2019, Western Union sold its US domestic bill payment business, Speedpay, to ACI Worldwide for $750 million in all-cash proceeds, using the capital to buy back shares.
Western Union reportedly explored a takeover of MoneyGram in 2020 to consolidate the global money transfer market, but the deal never materialized, and MoneyGram was later acquired by Madison Dearborn Partners.
Through Western Union Ventures, the company makes minority investments and commercial alliances with digital payment infrastructure startups, identity verification firms, and blockchain platforms.
Selling non-core assets like Speedpay ($750M) and Business Solutions ($910M) generated over $1.6 billion in cash, allowing Western Union to significantly reduce funded debt and maintain high dividend returns.
Management evaluates strategic tuck-ins that accelerate digital wallet capabilities, digital customer acquisition channels, and localized payment rails in high-growth remittance receiving markets.
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