Alibaba's Ant Financial buys UK currency exchange giant WorldFirst reportedly for around $700M

Ant Financial, the financial services behemoth affiliated with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has made its first big move into Europe. It's acquired London-headquartered payments company WorldFirst in a deal that sources tell us is valued at around $700 million. The deal was confirmed by WorldFirst in a note to customers while Alibaba, which curiously didn't put out an official press release, acknowledged the acquisition to us through a spokesperson.