Safeway's Blackhawk Gift Card Unit Files For $200 Million IPO
March 20, 2013 | 1 min to read
Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc, grocer Safeway Inc's (SWY.N) gift card and payment service unit, filed with regulators to raise as much as $200 million in an initial public offering of its Class A common stock.
Safeway, the second-largest U.S. grocery store operator, said in September that it plans to take the Blackhawk unit public in the first half of 2013.
Blackhawk sells prepaid gift, debit and telephone cards through thousands of retail outlets, including supermarkets, pharmacies and convenience stores. It also runs the payment and gift card infrastructure for Safeway and other retailers.
Safeway currently owns about 96 percent of Blackhawk and will continue to hold a significant stake in the unit after the IPO, according to the filing.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Reuters