MasterCard Shareholders Approve Going Public

PURCHASE, New York – Shareholders in MasterCard Incorporated have approved a governance restructuring plan what will make the former association into more of a corporation, institute a board of directors which will be independent of MasterCard’s issuers, issue and sell common stock in an initial public offering, and establish a charitable foundation that will control 10% of the new corporation’s shares. The move approves a restructuring that MasterCard announced at the end of August that is meant to introduce more independence into the process by which interchange rates are set and to provide more access to resources the card brand might need in the future to cope with possible litigation losses. “We are very pleased with the support of our shareholders for our new governance and ownership structure,” said Robert W. Selander, MasterCard president and CEO. “We also thank them for their significant commitment to The MasterCard Foundation, which will have two goals – to support young people around the world in gaining the skills necessary to succeed in a diverse global work force, and to provide microfinance programs and services to the financially disadvantaged to enhance local economies and develop entrepreneurs,” he said.