IPO VIEW-Visa's $10 billion IPO adds luster to '08 IPO mkt

By Lilla Zuill

NEW YORK, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Analysts predict that next year's U.S. initial public offerings will include a steady stream of activity including credit card issuer Visa Inc's $10 billion.

Visa, the biggest deal so far on 2008's dance card, is coming to market after MasterCard's (MA.N) stellar $2.4 billion 2006 IPO.

The company said late on Friday they plan to list their shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "V." (V.N) , according to an amended registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It has not disclosed how many shares it plans to offer, or expected share price.

Hopes are high that the world's largest credit card processor will the lead of its smaller rival MasterCard Inc, which has seen its share gain more than 440 percent since its initial IPO price of $39. The shares closed at $212.35 on Friday.

Scott Sweet, managing director of research firm IPOboutique.com said he expected the Visa offering to come early in the year. "It will certainly do well, as MasterCard has done incredibly," he said.

A Visa spokesman could not be reached for comment on the timing, but the company earlier said it was obligated to make "reasonable efforts" to complete the offering within 120 days of a restructuring that closed on Oct. 3.

At that rate, Visa would launch its offering by February. The IPO must be launched by early May if Visa wants to avoid having certain obligations of its financial services members suspended, according to the filing.

Under the restructuring, Visa Inc combines Visa U.S., international and Canadian operations. Another affiliate, Visa Europe, will remain a membership organization and take a minority stake in Visa Inc.

CREDIT CRUNCH

While credit markets have tightened since MasterCard's debut about 18 months ago -- raising concerns that credit card defaults could rise and consumer spending shrink -- analysts say the credit card industry is still posting strong growth.

"The credit card market is growing 12 to 14 percent," said Francis Gaskins, president of research firm IPOdesktop. com, who predicts Visa will grab headlines but fall short MasterCard's performance.

"It won't have the same growth; it will be steady but not blockbuster," Gaskins said.

Visa processed 44 billion transactions last year worth more than $3 trillion. During fiscal 2007, operating revenue rose 33 percent to $5.2 billion, while it had an operating loss of $1.1 billion, including a nearly $3 billion litigation reserve for outstanding litigation.

The company on Friday said it has set aside $1.9 billion related to American Express litigation and a $650 million reserve related to Discover litigation.

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