Ant Financial acquires UK payments firm

Ant Financial, the fintech company owned by Chinese internet giant Alibaba, has taken a major step into Europe through the acquisition of United Kingdom payments company WorldFirst.

Neither party has disclosed an amount for the deal. However, when negotiations first came to light in December, multiple reports valued the takeover at 550 million pounds ($705 million).

The acquisition was confirmed by WorldFirst Chief Executive Jonathan Quin in a letter to customers on Thursday.