As it prepared to file for its initial public offering, Mercury quietly incorporated in Delaware in December.

The Durango-based company incorporated as Mercury Payment Systems Inc. on Dec. 3. The payment-processing company, which maintains its headquarters and largest office in Durango, used the registered agent Corporation Service Co. in Wilmington, according to Delaware records.

Delaware is widely considered a business-friendly state for tax and regulatory purposes. The state has become a haven for business incorporations. At the time of a 2007 report, more than half of Fortune 500 companies were incorporated in Delaware, according to the state’s Corporations Division.

A Mercury spokeswoman did not return messages seeking comment. Local investment advisers and business officials also did not return messages.

Mercury will remain based in Durango for all practical purposes. The company is building an office complex in south Durango that is financed by a $10 million loan.

The Delaware registration comes as Mercury prepares to issue an initial public offering. Mercury filed a registration statement March 28 with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission indicating the company’s intention to raise about $100 million through an initial public stock offering.

The company has not announced when the IPO will begin or what the stock’s price will be. Mercury intends to list on Nasdaq under the stock ticker “MPS.”

Mercury is backed by Silver Lake, a California venture-capital firm. Silver Lake bought an approximately 60 percent stake in Mercury in 2010.

The IPO is underwritten by three major banks, J.P. Morgan, Barclays and Morgan Stanley.

According to Mercury’s SEC filing, members of Mercury’s board and Silver Lake will continue to own a majority of voting shares, meaning Mercury will be what’s called a “controlled company.”

Mercury had 646 full-time employees by the end of 2013, mostly in Durango and Denver. The company reported $237 million in net revenue last year.

cslothower@durangoherald.com