Merchants suing Visa International Inc. and MasterCard International Inc. in an antitrust suit will ask a federal judge in New York to undo MasterCard’s $2.39 billion initial public offering last month, a lawyer said.
The merchants are going to challenge the IPO in an amended complaint, their lawyer, K. Craig Wildfang, told U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein in a 30-minute hearing Monday.
Wildfang said in a letter to the court last month that the IPO was an improper attempt by MasterCard and its member banks to immunize themselves from antitrust liability.
MasterCard’s IPO raised $2.39 billion in the biggest U.S. IPO in two years. Proceeds from the sale were used to buy out 1,400 financial institutions that owned the company.
The merchants claim Visa and MasterCard, the two biggest credit card companies, conspired with their member banks to set inflated rates for so-called interchange fees, which merchants pay Visa and MasterCard to process transactions.
“MasterCard thinks the IPO is completely valid and it’s not going to be unwound,” said Kenneth Gallo, a lawyer for MasterCard.
