MoneyGram Exits Payment Processing Biz
May 22 (Reuters) - MoneyGram International Inc (MGI.N) will sell its payment processing business to privately-held Solutran to focus on its profitable money transfer and bill payment businesses.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter and majority of the current 37 FSMC business employees will join Solutran, said the company, which boasts of having Wal-Mart (WMT.N) as one of its clients.
"It's a move that enables MoneyGram to shift our organization closer to our core businesses and at the same time provides Solutran with an exceptional business that fits its growth strategy," Chief Executive Anthony Ryan said in a statement.
FSMC, or the payment processing business, represents less than 1 percent of MoneyGram's total revenue.
MoneyGram's investment portfolio has taken a hit due to deteriorating credit market conditions, and the company has been struggling to move away from riskier asset-backed securities to safer instruments such as government debt.
Shares of the Minneapolis-based company closed at $1.60 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has gained 56 percent in value since January this year. (Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bangalore; Editing by Ratul Ray Chaudhuri)
