Ant Financial says agrees to buy UK-based currency exchange WorldFirst

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese consumer finance giant Ant Financial has agreed to acquire UK-based currency exchange WorldFirst, an Ant Financial spokeswoman said on Thursday.

WorldFirst CEO Jonathan Quin said in a letter sent out to clients that was seen by Reuters that the company "will continue to operate as a UK-headquartered and regulated business with global operations" while becoming a wholly-owned division of Ant Financial.

Ant Financial declined to disclose the terms of the purchase.

Ant Financial is an affiliate of Alibaba, China's largest e-commerce company.

(Reporting by Josh Horwitz and Brenda Goh; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)