Payments giant First Data plots $3.2 billion IPO

New York-based payments giant First Data intends to raise as much as $3.2 billion in what's likely to be the biggest US initial public offering so far this year.

The payments processor plans to sell 160 million shares priced at $18 to $20 each, according to a regulatory filing Thursday, which would value the company at upwards of $17 billion at the midpoint of its expected price range.

First Data says it will use proceeds from the IPO to pay down debt and for other general corporate purposes.

First Data plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol FDC.

The IPO isn't First Data's first go around as a publicly traded company. In 1992 First Data was spun off in an IPO by American Express, but was then taken private in 2007 by KKR & Co., after the equity firm acquired it for $29.8 billion.

First Data is now one of the biggest players in the payments industry, processing trillions of dollars in credit and debit card transactions.

Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch and KKR are acting as joint bookrunning managers of the First Data IPO. Barclays Plc, Credit Suisse Group AG, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc, Mizuho Securities, PNC Capital Markets, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. are bookrunners, and Allen & Co., Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA and Cowen & Co. are co-managers, according to the filing.