MasterCard Prices IPO Below Estimated Range; Shares Move Up in Early Trading

MasterCard Inc. priced shares in their initial public offering at $39 early Thursday, $1 below the estimated range of $40-43. MasterCard floated 61.5 million shares on Thursday and raised just under $2.4 billion in the IPO.

Shares have been trading above the initial $39 price all morning. When trading began at 9:30am, the opening price was $40.30. At noon Eastern time on Thursday, the stock was trading at around $43.50.

Of the $2.4 billion raised by MasterCard, the company is expected to keep $650 million with the balance going toward the redemption of shares by current shareholders.

Several media outlets speculated that MasterCard?s initial price was affected by Vonage?s IPO on Wednesday. The internet telephony company saw its shares drop 12.7% throughout the trading day yesterday. Sensing a weak IPO market, MasterCard dropped their price by a dollar.