Visa Inc. raises $17.9 billion in record IPO

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San Francisco-based Visa, the world's largest credit card network, sold 406 million class A common stock for $44 per share, above the forecast range of $37 to $42.

Visa will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

Anticipation for the IPO was high on hopes it will emulate the success of smaller rival MasterCard Inc, whose shares have more than quadrupled since its 2006 IPO.

The stock could jump as much as 10 percent in first-day trading on Wednesday, said Francis Gaskins, president of research firm IPOdesktop.com.

Visa's pricing and optimism about possible first-day gains were likely helped by Tuesday's rally, as U.S. stocks rang in their biggest one-day gains in more than five years.

Only days ago, U.S. stocks plunged on the near-collapse of Bear Stearns Cos Inc.

MasterCard has done well despite the market slump, Gaskins pointed out. The stock rose 4.3 percent, or $8.73, to $210.25 on Tuesday, and gained almost 2 percent in aftermarket trading.

Both MasterCard and Visa are seen as good bets to avoid the market turmoil. Analysts say neither is directly exposed to rising defaults and late payments because it does not issue cards, unlike rivals such as American Express Co.

"Visa is much bigger than MasterCard," said David Robertson, publisher of Nilson Report, an industry newsletter.

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