Visanet SA, a Brazilian transaction processor minority-owned by Visa Inc. is expected to have 2009's largest initial public offering to date when its shares begin trading on June 29.
Investors were able to begin reserving shares in Visanet last week. The company expects to raise $2.9 billion to $3.7 billion through its IPO on the Brazilian Stock Exchange. It plans to sell 477.67 million common shares and might offer more if there is sufficient demand.
The largest IPO this year was the aluminum products manufacturer China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd., which raised $1.27 billion in April.
"It is too early to say whether Visanet will be the world's biggest IPO of the year; it's just the biggest so far this year," said Luis Fernando Resende, a director of the Brazilian Investment Banks Association. "I don't see an operation of similar size on the horizon in the U.S. or Europe." Visa owns 10% of Visanet.
