Antitrust Waiting Period for Western Union–Intermex Deal Ends on November 2
Key Facts
The new waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act for Western Union’s acquisition of Intermex ended on November 2, 2026, Intermex said in its quarterly report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The companies submitted a new filing on October 2, triggering a 30-day waiting period. Intermex said the period expired as scheduled, concluding that federal step in the deal process. The expiration of the waiting period does not establish that all regulatory approvals have been obtained or that the deal has closed. Western Union’s disclosures say the company and Intermex continued discussions over restoring California’s approval, while its status as of November 11 could not be verified.
California’s approval is handled by the state’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which suspended its merger approval pending further review. Western Union said in its quarterly report that the department sent the suspension letter on August 13, 2026. In its deal disclosure, the company said the further review remained under discussion among Western Union, Intermex and the department, and that the parties were discussing reactivating the approval. Western Union wrote: "We and Intermex continue to engage in discussions with the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation regarding the reactivation of its merger approval." This means the expiration of the federal waiting period in November alone does not resolve the status of the California regulatory process.
By contrast, the deal received approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services on August 13, 2026, according to Western Union’s report. That approval is separate from the California review and does not determine its outcome or establish that other regulatory requirements have been completed. The company’s report also said discussions with the California department over reactivating its approval were continuing. The regulatory process therefore includes New York’s approval and California’s review, in which the department suspended its approval. The available disclosure did not provide a final outcome for the California review.
The agreement dates back to a vote by Intermex shareholders, who approved the merger at a special meeting held on December 9, 2025, according to the company’s quarterly report. Under the agreement, Intermex will continue as the surviving legal entity after the merger and then become a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Union. It also provides for each share covered by the deal to be converted into the right to receive $16 in cash, without interest, upon completion. These terms set out the proposed structure of the deal and the consideration specified for shareholders, but do not mean the acquisition has been completed. Closing the merger remains contingent on satisfying the agreement’s conditions and obtaining the required approvals.
The agreement set November 10, 2026, as the date after which either party could terminate it, subject to its terms, if the deal had not been completed, according to Intermex’s report. The date came after the federal waiting period expired on November 2, but the available disclosures do not verify whether either party exercised its termination right after November 10. The status of California’s approval as of November 11 also could not be verified. In its guidance for fiscal 2026, Western Union forecast revenue growth of between 0% and 1% with Intermex included, compared with a decline of between 1% and 2% without it. The guidance places the deal within the company’s revenue assumptions, while the outcome of the regulatory review and the agreement’s status after the specified date remained unresolved in the available information.