MA MasterCard Incorporated

By Adam Clark

Visa Inc. (V) has raised its offer for U.K. payments company Earthport PLC (EPO.LN) to 247 million pounds ($319.5 million) in a bidding war with rival Mastercard Inc. (MA).

Visa said it will pay 37 pence a share for Earthport. In late January, Mastercard put forward a 33 pence-a-share offer.

Earthport's directors said they unanimously recommend the new offer and urged shareholders to take no action in relation to Mastercard's bid. London-based Earthport provides cross-border payment services to banks and businesses.

Visa said it has support from shareholders representing 17% of Earthport shares, including U.S.-based asset manager OppenheimerFunds.

The bidding war for Earthport was triggered in December, when Visa made its original 30 pence-a-share offer for the company. Shares leapt 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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 08, 2019 02:33 ET (07:33 GMT)

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