In February 2009 the company entered into an agreement with Fexco to acquire 100% of its shares for $ 159.9 million. 1998 - the number of points of money transfers worldwide reached 50,000. The network of money transfers of Western Union is the world's largest. Western Union offers one of the easiest ways for families and friends to send money and stay connected almost anywhere in the world. 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. Western Union made so that the time in all of American civil services was the same.