The credit crisis that has been haunting the stock market for months wasn't enough to scare investors away from the IPO of the world's largest credit card processor. Overcoming the jitters that have battered many of the lenders that issue its cards, Visa Inc. sold 406 million shares at $44 apiece late Tuesday to raise nearly $18 billion and complete the most lucrative initial public offering in U.S. history, reports the Associated Press. The IPO also is expected to generate more than $500 million in fees for Visa's team of investment bankers, led by JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs & Co.

The credit crisis that has been haunting the stock market for months wasn't enough to scare investors away from the IPO of the world's largest credit card processor.

Overcoming the jitters that have battered many of the lenders that issue its cards, Visa Inc. sold 406 million shares at $44 apiece late Tuesday to raise nearly $18 billion and complete the most lucrative initial public offering in U.S. history.

The price topped the range of $37 to $42 per share that Visa set three weeks ago, reflecting high demand to own a piece of a company that's promising earnings growth of 20 percent despite a credit crunch that's choking the U.S. economy.

"This shows that all the recent financial turmoil obviously hasn't bothered a lot of people," said Nicholas Einhorn, an IPO analyst for Renaissance Capital of Greenwich, Conn.

Investment bankers could still exercise an option to buy another 40.6 million Visa shares during the next 30 days. If that happens, Visa's IPO will end up raising $19.7 billion before expenses.

Visa faces another litmus test Wednesday when its shares are scheduled to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchagnge under the "V" ticker symbol. The San Francisco-based company will make its debut with a market value of about $36 billion.

Read the complete story from The Associated Press

Next article » Road Show: Great Porsche, Bad Idea

Previous article « Retreats: Large Cap