Ant Financial to raise $3 bn in debt

China’s most valuable online finance company, Ant Financial, is in early stage talks with banks to raise between $2 billion to $3 billion in debt to fund acquisitions and foreign investments, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
 
Banks have made “soft pitches” to help Ant raise funds, most likely through loans, to be used by the company for acquisitions such as that of MoneyGram International Inc as well as for boosting existing investments, the person said.
 
Ant, an affiliate of online shopping giant Alibaba Group, dominates China’s online payment market, but has been ramping up investment overseas amid fierce rivalry at home with peers like Tencent Holdings Ltd’s popular WeChat Pay. Ant, valued at about $60 billion after a $4.5 billion funding round last April.