Visa Inc gets green light to take over Visa Europe
Visa Inc and Visa Europe to become one global company
The European Commission has approved the proposed acquisition of Visa Europe by Visa Inc. This concludes all regulatory approvals required for this deal to go ahead, as the Jersey and the Turkish competition authorities have already given their stamps of approval.
The transaction is expected to close in Visa Inc’s fiscal Q3 2016.
The takeover was announced last year, with the deal valued at €21.2 billion.
Visa Europe and Visa Inc went their separate ways back in 2008, when five out of six Visa regions floated on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as Visa Inc.
Meanwhile, Visa Europe retained its independent status as a membership association owned and governed by its 4,600 European members.
With the latest move to become a single global company again, a number of UK banks that have stakes in Visa Europe are in for a windfall. Barclays is expected to book around £400 million, Lloyds will get £300 million, RBS – £200 million and HSBC – £150 million.
Visa Europe’s largest acquirer, Worldpay, could benefit to the tune of €1.25 billion.
