Today, Visa Inc., the world´s largest retail electronic payment
network, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker
symbol "V" after its historic initial public offering in which it
raised $17.86 billion. Visa´s IPO is the largest domestic initial
public offering in U.S. history and the third largest initial public
offering worldwide.
"Visa is a great addition to our listed company family, and an
outstanding global brand," said Duncan L. Niederauer, CEO, NYSE
Euronext. "We look forward to a beneficial and lasting partnership
with Visa and to providing the company and its shareholders with the
highest levels of service, liquidity and market quality."
To mark the occasion, Visa´s Chairman and CEO Joseph W. Saunders
rang The Opening Bell and was joined on the trading floor by 30 middle
school students from the Kappa V School in Brooklyn, NY. The students
were on hand to view the first public trade of Visa shares, which
Saunders personally conducted on behalf of the Teach for America
Program, the national corps of top college graduates who commit two
years to teach in rural and urban public schools.
Visa Inc. is the largest initial public offering in the United
States followed by AT&T Wireless Services Inc., which raised $11.2
billion on April 26, 2000. Visa is also the third largest initial
public offering in history preceded by Industrial & Commercial Bank of
China, which raised $21.9 billion on October 20, 2006 and NTT Mobile
Communications Network Inc., which raised $18.4 billion on October 12,
1998.
About Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. operates the world´s largest retail electronic payments
network providing processing services and payment product platforms.
This includes consumer credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments,
which are offered under the Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and PLUS
brands. Visa enjoys acceptance around the world and Visa/PLUS is one
of the world´s largest global ATM networks, offering cash access in
local currency in more than 170 countries.
About NYSE Euronext
NYSE Euronext (NYX) operates the world´s leading and most liquid
exchange group, and seeks to provide the highest levels of quality,
customer choice and innovation. Its family of exchanges, located in
six countries, include the New York Stock Exchange, the world´s
largest cash equities market; Euronext, the Eurozone´s largest cash
equities market; Liffe, Europe´s leading derivatives exchange by value
of trading; and NYSE Arca Options, one of the fastest growing U.S.
options trading platforms. NYSE Euronext offers a diverse array of
financial products and services for issuers, investors and financial
institutions in cash equities, options and derivatives, ETFs, bonds,
market data, and commercial technology solutions. NYSE Euronext´s
nearly 4,000 listed companies represent a combined $30.5 trillion/EUR
20.9 trillion in total global market capitalization (as of Dec. 31,
2007), more than four times that of any other exchange group. NYSE
Euronext´s equity exchanges transact an average daily trading value of
approximately $141 billion/EUR 103 billion (as of Dec. 31, 2007),
which represents more than one-third of the world´s cash equities
trading. NYSE Euronext is part of the S&P 500 index and the only
exchange operator in the S&P 100 index. For more information, please
visit www.nyx.com.
