World First closes U.S. operations before acquisition by Chinese tech giant

World First, a British money transfer and currency exchange company backed by FTV Capital, is shutting its longstanding U.S. operations to defend against possible regulatory challenges to a planned £700 million takeover by China's Ant Financial.

Why it matters: Such extreme measures could become the new normal for non-U.S. companies seeking acquisition by Chinese tech giants. The Financial Times' Nicholas Megaw & Louise Lucas note: "The decision comes almost exactly a year after Ant Financial, the digital payments affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, was forced to abandon a proposed $1.2 billion proposal to buy MoneyGram, a U.S. money transfer business."