The media reports that the Chinese Ant Group is currently preparing to implement its intention to acquire the Dutch payment company MultiSafepay.

The value of the mentioned deal will be about $ 200 million. The media published the relevant information at the end of last week with reference to insiders. The journalists also note that the acquisition of the Dutch company by Ant Group, whose ownership structure includes Alipay, is an important step in implementing the Chinese firm’s strategy to expand its activities in the European financial services sector.

The upcoming deal is not the first such initiative for the brand from an Asian country. In 2022, Ant launched a Singapore-based 2C2P payment company. In 2019, the Chinese brand became the owner of the British payment group WorldFirst.

Representatives of Ant Group and MultiSafepay did not provide any comments in response to a media request for a future deal.

MultiSafepay was founded in 1999. The company provides acquiring services. The firm also handles payment transactions. The company supports more than 30 local and international payment methods. MultiSafepay is the processor and acquirer of all major cards. The relevant information is available on the company’s website.

The news of the deal appeared against the backdrop of an extremely unsuccessful 2023 regarding the possibilities for mergers and acquisitions. The total financial volume of these business agreements decreased by about 18% last year compared to 2022. In monetary terms, this figure is about 3 trillion dollars. This is the worst result in the last ten years. In 2013, the total financial volume of mergers and acquisitions amounted to $2.8 trillion.

Paul J. Taubman, founder and CEO of the investment bank PJT Partners, in December, while talking to reporters, expressed surprise at the too-high level of difficulty in concluding the mentioned deals in 2023. At the same time, he assumes that in the current year, there will be a revival in the relevant sector of business activity, but noted the lack of understanding of the scale of positive dynamic.

Also, some participants in mergers and acquisitions are optimistic after a difficult 2023. Michele Cousins, head of Leveraged Capital Markets in the Americas at UBS, said during a press briefing that clients had begun to show a higher level of interest in such processes. In this context, she also noted that against the background of strengthening markets and reducing volatility, people began to feel more comfortable.

Last year, Alipay, which is part of the ownership structure of the Ant Group, launched an international version of its app for overseas travelers in China. This digital product is designed to meet the needs of tourists in mobile payment transactions. The app also integrates consumer-oriented solutions such as taxi booking, hotel reservations, and buying airline tickets.

Also in 2023, Ant Group began letting foreign users link Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, and Discover cards to mobile wallets.

In December, Alipay began cooperating with payment service provider Citcon. As part of this partnership, retailers in the United States are given access to international financial operations using electronic wallets. A joint press release from the companies notes that in this case, customers are offered a convenient and secure way to make payment transactions by applying digital wallets.

As we have reported earlier, Ant Group Partners PayNet for Cross-Border Digital Payments.