Key points
- Western Union (NYSE:WU) terminated its agreement to acquire International Money Express (NASDAQ:IMXI) after California regulators imposed approval conditions the company considered unacceptable.
- California's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation proposed conditions that Western Union said would require significant changes to its business model, agent relationships and long-term strategy.
- either company is required to pay the other a termination fee under the merger agreement, and Western Union said it would refocus on its existing business strategy.
The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) terminated its agreement to acquire International Money Express (NASDAQ:IMXI) after rejecting final regulatory conditions imposed by California's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.
Western Union said it had secured approvals from 54 other states, territories and foreign countries, but could not obtain acceptable approval from California, which initially approved the transaction in February 2026 before withdrawing that approval in August.
"While we are disappointed that we were unable to complete the acquisition on terms that were acceptable to Western Union, we believe this course of action is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders," said Western Union President and CEO Devin McGranahan.
The California regulator's final conditions, delivered on November 10, would have required material changes to Western Union's business model, agent relationships and long-term strategy, while the merger agreement requires neither company to make a termination payment to the other.
Western Union said California had not identified any failure to comply with legal requirements covering fraud prevention, money laundering or fair customer access, and maintained that it remained compliant with its Federal Trade Commission consent order.
Western Union provides international money transfers, cross-border payments and digital financial services across more than 200 countries and territories, while Intermex operates money transfer services connecting customers in North America and Europe with recipients in more than 60 countries.
The proposed acquisition, announced in August 2025, was intended to combine the companies' money transfer networks, but regulatory delays in California remained the outstanding obstacle after other required approvals were obtained.
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