Mastercard Tops Visa Offer for UK Payments Company Earthport -- Update
January 25 2019 - 12:13PM
Dow Jones News
(Updated with Visa's reply and the share price.)
--Mastercard has made a GBP233 million bid for Earthport, a
U.K.-based provider of cross-border payment services
--The latest offer from the U.S. multinational beats a previous
bid made by rival Visa in December
--Earthport shares have risen sharply since the news of
Mastercard's bid emerged
By Adam Clark and Carlo Martuscelli
Mastercard Inc. (MA) has trumped rival Visa Inc. (V) with a 233
million-pound ($304.1 million) takeover offer for U.K. payments
company Earthport PLC (EPO.LN).
Mastercard said Friday that it will pay 33 pence a share for
Earthport. The British company has withdrawn its recommendation of
a 30 pence-a-share offer from Visa that was agreed to in late
December.
In a statement, Visa said it noted the announcement and is
considering its options.
"A further announcement will be made in due course," it
said.
London-based Earthport provides cross-border payment services to
banks and businesses. Mastercard said it expects to continue
investing in the company's network and increase transaction
volumes.
Shares of Earthport at 1607 GMT were up 32% at 36.60 pence.
Mastercard already has support from 13% of Earthport's
shareholders, and is aiming for 75% control in order to take the
company off of London's AIM.
Earthport shares leapt in December following the Visa offer,
after the stock had fallen steadily over the past three years to a
low of 5 pence.
Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@dowjones.com; @AdamDowJones
and Carlo Martuscelli at carlo.martuscelli@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 25, 2019 11:58 ET (16:58 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
MasterCard (NYSE:MA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
MasterCard (NYSE:MA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024