Saturday, November 10, 2007

Visa's Inc's® $10,000,000,000 Misguided Hedge From Litigation (WayTooHigh.com)

Visa Inc's® hope to raise $10 billion, in what would be the second largest U.S. IPO, and could then transfer partial ownership to outside shareholders. This seems to mirror MasterCard's® strategy to limit the member bank's antitrust liabilities. But, not so fast. Our litigation doesn't start on the day of the IPO, but, instead goes back years. Similar to how if someone breaks the law then, after the fact turns good, they still violated the law.

The credit card network in its filing said that from the proceeds they hope to raise, they plan to deposit a portion of it into an escrow account to pay settlements or judgments related to litigation.

Visa Hopes to Raise $10B in IPO

[Source: via AP, Commentary: WayTooHigh.com]