Mastercard set to buy part of Travelex -sources

LONDON/BRUSSELS Dec 9 (Reuters) - MasterCard Inc (MA.N) is set to buy the card programme management arm of British foreign exchange group Travelex and a deal may be announced on Thursday, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The sources said the deal was expected to be worth several hundred million pounds. Mastercard said it was preparing a statement for 1230 GMT, but declined to say whether it would announce an acquisition.

"This is the part of the business that manufactures the cards that Travelex provides for its customers," said one source, on condition of anonymity, who added that the deal would provide Travelex with extra cash for its own expansion plans.

The sources said the deal would not change the shareholding structure of Travelex, which is majority-owned by private equity group Apax. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Ben Deighton and Simon Meads)