8th Feb 2019 07:47
LONDON (Alliance News) - Visa Inc has increased its offer for cross-border payments firm Earthport PLC, it said Friday, following a rival bid from Mastercard Inc.
Visa initially made a bid of 30 pence per share in December, which was agreed with Earthport. However, in late January, Mastercard came in with its own offer at 33p.
Visa has now upped its offer to 37 pence per share, which values Earthport at around GBP247 million fully diluted. The new figure is 12% above Mastercard's offer and 23% higher than the original Visa bid.
Earthport shares closed flat on Thursday at 38.80p apiece, giving it a market capitalisation of approximately GBP241.9 million.
Earthport's Interim Chair commented: "The board of Earthport is pleased to recommend Bidco's cash offer for Earthport which is at a 12% premium to the Mastercard proposal. This revised cash offer provides our shareholders with even greater value in cash for their shares."
In a separate statement, Mastercard noted Visa's new offer and said it is now considering its options, urging Earthport shareholders to take no action on Visa's bid. It said it will make a further announcement in "due course".
Related Shares:
Earthport