asterCard, expected to go public late in May, raised its IPO estimate to between $40 and $43 per share. The company plans to issue 61.5 million shares, bringing it approximately $2.65 billion.

"This deal will be one of the larger transactions in 2006," Merrill Lynch Research Analyst Gregory Smith stated in a recent report to investors. "We would not be surprised to see Visa do a similar offering down the road if MasterCard's IPO is successful."

At the proposed price, MasterCard's overall market valuation, factoring in member banks' equity, would be approximately $5.6 billion. The company will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker MA.