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Today, Visa Inc., the world's largest retail electronic payment network, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "V" after its historic initial public offering in which it raised $17.86 billion. Visa's IPO is the largest domestic initial public offering in U.S. history and the third largest initial public offering worldwide.
"Visa is a great addition to our listed company family, and an outstanding global brand," said Duncan L. Niederauer, CEO, NYSE Euronext. "We look forward to a beneficial and lasting partnership with Visa and to providing the company and its shareholders with the highest levels of service, liquidity and market quality."
To mark the occasion, Visa's Chairman and CEO Joseph W. Saunders rang The Opening Bell and was joined on the trading floor by 30 middle school students from the Kappa V School in Brooklyn, NY. The students were on hand to view the first public trade of Visa shares, which Saunders personally conducted on behalf of the Teach for America Program, the national corps of top college graduates who commit two years to teach in rural and urban public schools.
Visa Inc. is the largest initial public offering in the United States followed by AT&T Wireless Services Inc., which raised $11.2 billion on April 26, 2000. Visa is also the third largest initial public offering in history preceded by Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, which raised $21.9 billion on October 20, 2006 and NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc., which raised $18.4 billion on October 12, 1998.
