$2,250,000,000 = one extra spicy meatball.
CNBC reports that Visa tentatively agreed to pay American Express $2.25 billion to settle claim that Visa and MasterCard violated the Sherman Act by colluding to prohibit their respective member banks from issuing American Express cards. The pact calls for Visa to pay half now and half over three or four years. It comes on the eve of an initial public offering by Visa.
MasterCard went public last year. No word on whether it’ll settle, too.
Barry Barnett