MA MasterCard Incorporated

(Adds Mastercard response, Earthport share price movement.)

--Earthport shares rose after Visa increased its takeover offer for the cross-border payments company to GBP247 million, raising the stakes in its bidding war with Mastercard

--Mastercard said it will consider its options and urged Earthport shareholders to take no action over the Visa bid

--Earthport shares have risen sixfold in the last three months as the American card giants battle over the London-listed company

By Adam Clark

Earthport PLC (EPO.LN) shares rose Friday after Visa Inc. (V) hiked its offer for the cross-border payments company, trumping a competing bid from Mastercard Inc. (MA).

Visa raised its offer for Earthport to 247 million pounds ($319.5 million), or 37 pence a share. In late January, Mastercard put forward a 33 pence-a-share offer.

Earthport's directors said they unanimously recommend the new offer. London-based Earthport provides cross-border payment services to banks and businesses.

Mastercard said it is considering its options, and urged Earthport shareholders to take no action over the Visa bid. Earthport shares at 0835 GMT were up 14% at 44.40 pence, with investors anticipating another round of competing bids.

Visa said it has support from shareholders representing 17% of Earthport shares, largely via U.S.-based asset manager OppenheimerFunds. Both Visa and Mastercard's offers are conditional on at least 75% support from Earthport shareholders.

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.

Both American companies have said they intend to keep investing in Earthport and increasing transaction volumes on its network. While Earthport has been consistently loss-making, it offers services to major banks including Bank of America Corp. (BAC), offering simplified access to local clearing operations.

Earthport has also integrated cryptocurrency Ripple into its payments network.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@dowjones.com; @AdamDowJones

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 08, 2019 04:02 ET (09:02 GMT)

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