In February 2009 the company entered into an agreement with Fexco to acquire 100% of its shares for $ 159.9 million. In 1866, Sibley ordered the engineers to develop a Western Union telegraph system of stock quotes in real time. In 1864, fearing the laying of long underwater lines, Western Union offered to carry out laying of telegraph lines to Europe through the Russian Alaska under the narrow Bering Strait and then to Siberia with branching in the major cities of Europe. In October 1871 the company has implemented the world's first telegraph money order. After a century money transfers have become a major source of income for Western Union. Thanks to cooperation with Western Union the Associated Press at the end of the XIX century took almost monopolistic position in the U.S. market news. Transaction with Fexco has allowed Western Union to control directly more than 10 thousand points of service, which belonged to Fexco in 7 European countries (Spain, UK, Sweden, Ireland, Denmark, Norway and Finland). In the 1910-1920 years. Western Union is actively engaged in researching, innovating in the field of data transmission. Western Union for more than 130 years provides money transfer services to its customers.