AXP American Express Company

Visa Inc. is close to clinching the biggest deal in its history—by buying a company named Visa.

The Foster City, Calif.-based payments network is in advanced negotiations to buy its European counterpart—Visa Europe—for about $22 billion in a deal that would unite Visa's global operations under one roof, according to people familiar with the matter.

Visa Inc., which has held sporadic talks over the years with Visa Europe, confirmed in recent months that it was moving ahead with negotiations and would try to finish the deal by the end of October. Analysts say that they expect a deal could be announced as soon as Monday when Visa releases its quarterly results.

Visa Inc., which usually reports its fiscal fourth quarter earnings in late October, won't report results until Nov. 2, prompting some speculation that it will announce a deal then. In addition, the company usually announces its earnings after the close of the market, but is now planning to issue them in the morning, during Europe's afternoon.

Analysts are betting that both sides are motivated enough to close the transaction. "This deal has come and gone many times, but it is hard to imagine, when they have come this far, what could happen to make either side walk away," says Lisa Ellis, a payments analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

Large deals worth $10 billion or more have been rare for financial companies since the 2008 crisis and basically unheard among of the big credit-card networks, Visa, MasterCard Inc., American Express Co., and Discover Financial Services.

Visa's largest acquisition was its $2 billion deal to buy Cybersource, a provider of security services to online merchants, in 2010.

The purchase could have widespread implications for both Visa and MasterCard in Europe, where payments systems remain relatively fragmented.

Visa Inc.'s acquisition of Visa Europe is expected to serve as a trigger for both Visa and MasterCard to push European consumers and businesses toward electronic payments. It would also likely invigorate the longtime rivalry between the two companies as they court the business of thousands of European financial firms that now own a majority stake of Visa Europe, according to analysts.

"It's pretty clear that the opportunities for MasterCard should outweigh any concerns" about enhanced competition from a unified Visa, said Darrin Peller, an analyst at Barclays Capital Inc.

A spokeswoman for Visa Inc. declined to comment on the timing of a deal.

"At this stage, there is no certainty about the outcome of those discussions, and Visa Europe remains focused on continuing to develop its business," said a spokeswoman for Visa Europe.

MasterCard already operates as a unified company around the world, and sees opportunity in a Visa change. MasterCard Chief Executive Officer Ajay Banga said Thursday morning on an earnings call that a unified Visa "will change the competitive landscape," but that the integration "will take some energy, effort and dedication."

The proceeds from any sale would come in handy for some European banks, many of which are dealing with financial struggles or varying levels of restructuring. Barclays PLC, the largest stakeholder in Visa Europe, stands to make more than £ 1 billion ($1.5 billion) in the deal, according to a person familiar with the planned transaction.

For years, Visa Inc. and Visa Europe operated under the same umbrella company called Visa International Service Association. That changed in 2007 when Visa's U.S. operations began moving from a bank-owned cooperative to a publicly traded company.

Visa's other operations around the world united under the name Visa Inc., but the European entity remained separate.

Margot Patrick contributed to this article.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 29, 2015 12:55 ET (16:55 GMT)

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