Visa May Raise as Much as $17 Billion in Initial Sale

(Bloomberg) -- Visa Inc. may raise as much as $17 billion in what would be the biggest U.S. initial public stock offering.

Visa, the world's largest payment-card network, plans to sell 406 million Class A shares for $37 to $42 each, the San Francisco-based company said in a regulatory filing today. Banks have the option of selling an additional 40.6 million shares, pushing the potential size of the deal to $18.8 billion.

The company is trying to replicate the success of its smaller rival, MasterCard Inc., whose shares have surged more than fivefold since a May 2006 IPO. Demand for initial public offerings has waned this year, with 97 companies raising $12 billion, or 43 percent less than in the same period last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

At the high end of the projected range, Visa's transaction would be the world's second-biggest IPO, after the $22 billion raised by Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. in 2006.

 

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