Visa Inc. will proceed with its $17 billion initial public offering, betting it can pull off the biggest stock sale in U.S. history during the worst year for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index since 2001.
Visa, the world's largest credit-card network, may eclipse AT&T Wireless Group's $10.6 billion offering in 2000, assuming the share price is set at the high end of the projected $37-to-$42 range. San Francisco-based Visa would rank as the world's second-biggest IPO after the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.'s $22 billion offering in 2006.
Coping With Losses
The world's biggest financial firms have been battered by $195 billion of asset writedowns and credit-market losses since the beginning of 2007, including $37.1 billion by Visa's six largest holders, according to data compiled by Bloomberg as of March 14.
The world's biggest financial firms have been battered by $195 billion of asset writedowns and credit-market losses since the beginning of 2007, including $37.1 billion by Visa's six largest holders, according to data compiled by Bloomberg as of March 14.
Visa's IPO aims to mimic the success of MasterCard, whose stock has gained more than 400 percent since the Purchase, New York-based company went public in 2006.
``It's probably a good time for these companies to raise funds,'' said Tunde Kovacs, an assistant professor of finance at Northeastern University in Boston, referring to the banks. ``There are further defaults expected in the mortgage markets and possibly in some other areas like credit cards.''
Proceeds from the IPO will be used to settle antitrust lawsuits, including a case brought by American Express, Visa said in its prospectus. The rest will be used to buy stock from member companies and to run the business.
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