Visa affiliate IPO may be Brazil's biggest in year

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - VisaNet, the Brazilian affiliate of credit card network Visa Inc (V.N: Quote, Profile, Research), said on Tuesday its initial public offering may reach 7.2 billion reais ($3.66 billion), the biggest stock sale in the country in almost a year.

Shareholders of VisaNet, whose formal name is Cia. Brasileira de Meios de Pagamento, plan to sell at least 477.67 million shares at 12 reais to 15 reais each, the company said in an announcement published in Valor Economico newspaper.

The stock sale would be Brazil's biggest since a 19.43 billion real offering by giant miner Vale (VALE5.SA: Quote, Profile, Research) last July.

VisaNet's offering could rise to 9.7 billion reais if underwriters exercised a so-called greenshoe option to sell additional shares to meet demand.

Brazil's market for stock offerings was among the hottest in the world for years, with sales reaching successive records between 2004 and 2007. Sales have dwindled since the turmoil in global markets worsened late last year, and IPO volumes in Brazil had their worst start of the year since at least 2002, according to government data.

Initial sales of notes, stocks and asset-backed securities plummeted 54 percent to 9.49 billion reais in the first five months of the year, the least in four years, according to data released on Brazil's securities regulatory agency's web site.

VisaNet would be the first company to go public in Brazil since June 2008, when energy company OGX Petroleo e Gas (OGXP3.SA: Quote, Profile, Research) sold shares in an IPO.

The offering would also be the second in Brazil this year, after Citigroup's (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) sale of a stake in its credit card affiliate Redecard (RDCD3.SA: Quote, Profile, Research), which was already publicly listed.

VisaNet is controlled by Bradesco (BBDC4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research), with a 39 percent stake; Banco do Brasil (BBAS3.SA: Quote, Profile, Research), with 31 percent; and Spain's Santander (SAN.MC: Quote, Profile, Research), with 14 percent. Visa Inc unit Visa International is also part of the control group with a 10 percent stake.