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Blockchain payment firm Ripple is selling one-third of its stake in MoneyGram.

Moneygram issued a statement addressing the recent turmoil between Ripple and the U.S. SEC due to a lawsuit filed by the regu
Moneygram issued a statement addressing the recent turmoil between Ripple and the U.S. SEC due to a lawsuit filed by the regulator against the firm.

According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing this week, blockchain payments firm owns 6.22 million shares of MoneyGram, or 8.6% of shares outstanding, plus a warrant to buy up to another 5.95 million shares, for a total equity position of 12.2 million shares, or 17% of MoneyGram’s shares outstanding. The blockchain firm is selling up to 4 million shares, or approximately 33.3% of its entire stake, if you count the shares represented by the warrant.

Ripple will still own at least 3.22 million shares.

After the sale, the blockchain payments firm Ripple will still own at least 3.22 million shares or 4.44% of MoneyGram. When including the additional shares represented by the warrant, which gives Ripple the right to execute a stock buy at a predetermined price, the blockchain payments firm will still own about 11% of MoneyGram. Under the terms of Ripple’s initial investment announced last year, the company bought the shares in MoneyGram at $4.10 apiece, at a significant premium to their price at the time. With shares of MoneyGram up more than 260% this year, closing at $7.42 on Wednesday, Ripple can now net a significant profit on its investment.

Ripple acquired a $50 million equity stake in MoneyGram in November 2019.

A spokesperson from Ripple said that “Ripple is a proud partner in MoneyGram’s digital growth transformation. This is purely a judicious financial decision to realize some gains on Ripple’s MGI [MoneyGram International] investment and is in no way a reflection of the current state of our partnership.” The sales of shares are still in process. Ripple completed the purchase of a $50 million equity stake in MoneyGram in November last year. Recently, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that even XRP is declared as security, the blockchain payments firm would still succeed.

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