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Visa, the world's largest credit and debit card
company, said it had hired J.P. Morgan Securities Plc to help
consider its options for the investment.
Monitise was the biggest percentage loser on the London Stock
Exchange on Thursday morning, with nearly 250 million pounds
($408 million) wiped off the company's market value. More than
51 million shares had changed hands by 1008 GMT (6:08 a.m. EDT)
Visa Inc is the fourth-biggest shareholder in Monitise. Visa
Europe separately holds a stake in the company.
Monitise hired former Visa executive Elizabeth Buse in June to
co-run the company as it pursues a sevenfold increase in the
number of customers using its mobile banking and payment
systems.
Visa first invested in Monitise in 2009, when the company's
revenue was about 3 million pounds, to provide capital support
as the company grew its mobile payments business. It has reduced
its original 14.4 percent stake in the company over time.
Visa said the reduction of its stake followed its practice of
supplying seed capital to emerging companies and reducing its
influence as the company grows.
Monitise, which listed on London's Alternate Investment Market
in mid-2007, reported revenue of 95.1 million pounds in the year
ended June 30.
Visa said Monitise would provide it with mobile platform
development services through 2016.
Monitise said in a separate statement that it would continue its
alliance with Visa Inc and reiterated its guidance for the
current financial year.
Shares of Monitise were trading down 23.5 percent at 32.50 pence
at 1008 GMT (6:08 a.m. EDT).
(1 US dollar = 0.6133 British pound)
(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Roshni Menon in Bangalore;
Editing by Gopakumar Warrier and Robin Paxton)
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