The Green Sheet: At the end of August, MasterCard Inc. announced that it plans to restructure company ownership through an initial public offering of common stock; it also plans to restructure corporate governance. The word on the street is that MasterCard hopes the IPO will raise capital, increase operations transparency to buffer itself from public criticism and help cushion the blow of the 20 or so lawsuits pending against it, should any result in financial liabilities.
MasterCard said it would put a 49 percent stake in the organization on the block in the form of Class A common stock. Those stockholders are expected to share 83 percent of shareholder voting rights. The banks that now make up MasterCard's Board of Directors should retain a 41 percent share in the new company. A newly formed charitable foundation is expected to own the remaining 10 percent of MasterCard.
