MA: MasterCard Inc IPO Priced Below Forecast

MasterCard Inc., the world's No. 2 credit-card association, priced an initial public offering of stock worth about $2.4 billion on Wednesday, amid expectations of strong demand for one of the financial services industry's top brands.
MasterCard's offering of 61.52 million shares, or 46 percent of the company, was priced at $39 apiece, below a $40 to $43 forecast range.
The lower-than-expected pricing comes on the heels of the poor opening day performance of Internet telephone service provider Vonage Holdings Corp. (VG), whose shares plummeted 12.65 percent in the worst market debut of any U.S. IPO this year.
MasterCard is second only to Visa among credit card issuers worldwide.