Visa has announced that it intends to restructure and hold an IPO to create a new public global corporation called Visa Inc. In addition to going public, the restructuring will also see Visa make its European unit separate from the rest of the company.
Under the proposed restructuring, Visa Inc will be created through a series of mergers involving Visa Canada, Visa USA and Visa International. The reorganization will result in a new stock corporation owned by Visa members.
After the mergers are complete, the global corporation intends to begin the IPO process and list its shares on a major stock exchange. It is expected that a majority of the shares in the reorganized company will be sold to the public.
As a part of the restructuring, Visa Europe will remain a membership association, owned and governed by its European member banks, and become a licensee of Visa Inc. Visa Europe will be a minority stockholder in the global company, and Visa Inc will have a minority investment interest in Visa Europe.
Visa said that it expects the proposed restructuring will best position the company to meet the evolving needs of its customers and accelerate its growth by improving organizational efficiency, addressing certain legal claims that exist in some markets, and increasing access to capital.
The boards of directors of Visa’s six regions and Visa International have unanimously approved the recommendation for the restructuring. However, it is still subject to approval by Visa members and regulatory authorities.