Visa to buy Visa Europe in €21bn deal

London - Visa Inc said on Monday it would acquire former subsidiary Visa Europe for €16.5bn, with the potential for an additional payment of up to €4.7bn.

The upfront payment comprises €11.5bn in cash and preferred stock convertible into Visa Inc class A common stock valued at €5bn.

Visa Inc and Visa Europe, a cooperative of European banks with over 500 million cards, were part of a global bank-owned network until 2007.

Most of the units merged to form Visa Inc, which went public in 2008, leaving Visa Europe as a separate entity.

The deal is expected to give Visa more scale to compete with rival MasterCard Inc.

Visa, which also released fourth-quarter results on Monday, said it authorized a new $5bn share buyback program.

The company's net income jumped to $1.51bn, or $0.62 per diluted class A common share, in the quarter ended September 30, from $1.07bn or $0.43 per share.