Western Union To Buy Travelex Global For $976M

Western Union Co WU announced its plans to buy the Travelex Global Business Payments division of Travelex Holdings for 606 million British pounds, or around $976 million. The deal is likely to close in late 2011. Hikmet Ersek, President and CEO of Western Union, said, “The acquisition of Custom House in 2009 gave us an entry into the business-to-business cross-border payments market, and Travelex Global Business Payments provides us immediate scale, further reach, and added capabilities. We are excited to welcome Travelex Global Business Payments customers and employees to the Western Union family.” WU shares dropped 0.94% to $20.05 in pre-market trading. Read more from Benzinga's Company news.