Visa IPO Should Ring Up The Register

As has been widely expected, Visa filed for an IPO. In light of MasterCard’s (NYSE: MA) stunning performance in the public markets, it seems only natural for Visa to follow suit.

And it could rank as one of the largest IPOs in history – perhaps exceeding $10 billion.

I’ve had a chance to scan through the prospectus. Not surprisingly, there are pages of details on outstanding lawsuits. Then again, the company is a big fat target. For the first nine moths of 2007, revenues came to $3.7 billion and net income was $771 million.

Visa operates by far the largest retail electronic payments network in the world. And with the IPO dollars, the company is likely to expand things, such as for more sophisticated business transactions. There are also the massive opportunities in places like China.

Other takeaways on Visa:

• Leader in branded credit/debit cards in circulation
• Cards accepted in 170 countries
• VisaNet processed more than 74 billion authorization, clearing and settlement requests in the 12 months ended March 31, 2007
• More than two-thirds of Visa’s financial institution customers have been customers for longer than 10 years.