CHICAGO, April 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- GTCR, a leading
private equity firm, announced today that it has signed a
definitive agreement to sell Callcredit Information Group Limited
("Callcredit" or the "Company") to TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) for £1.0
billion in cash consideration.
Founded in 2000, Callcredit is the second largest credit
reference agency in the UK with over 3,000 customers, including the
UK's largest financial institutions and organizations in the
alternative lending, insurance, telecom, utilities and public
sectors, among others. The Company's innovative data solutions and
software and analytics services enable real-time credit reporting
and scoring, multi-bureau decisioning analysis, loan affordability
assessments, customer account monitoring and management, and fraud
protection and identify verification. In addition, Callcredit
provides free access to credit reports and scores to consumers to
help them manage their finances and offers protection against fraud
and identity theft.
Since GTCR's acquisition of Callcredit in 2014, the Company has
experienced a significant transformation driven by GTCR's
partnership with a management team led by CEO Mike Gordon, who was recruited by GTCR and
joined in 2014. Over the past several years, Callcredit has
established itself as a market leader through product innovation,
expansion of fraud protection and identity verification
capabilities, and material investments in technology and systems to
enhance security and resilience. During the same period, Callcredit
completed three acquisitions to support its organic expansion
efforts.
"GTCR is proud to have supported Callcredit's remarkable
transformation and growth over the last few years," said GTCR
Managing Director Collin Roche.
"Callcredit enhanced its capabilities and product offerings, added
several new clients, and deepened its long-standing relationships
with existing clients while maintaining its agility and
customer-centric culture that have underpinned its success to date.
We believe the Company is well-positioned to continue its growth as
part of TransUnion."
Aaron Cohen, Managing Director at
GTCR, added: "This transaction marks another successful example of
GTCR's Leaders Strategy™. Mike
Gordon and the entire Callcredit team have built a truly
remarkable company by investing in people and technology, resulting
in strong growth and exceptional customer service. On behalf of
GTCR, we'd like to extend our thanks and best wishes to the entire
management team and employees at Callcredit as they continue their
journey with TransUnion."
"We'd like to thank GTCR for their commitment and support in
transforming Callcredit over the past several years," said
Mike Gordon. "GTCR has been a great
partner, and extremely supportive of the investments made to drive
long-term growth. We look forward to working with TransUnion to
continue delivering innovative solutions to our customers."
The transaction is anticipated to close late in the second
quarter or early in the third quarter pending regulatory
approval.
Jefferies International Limited and Credit Suisse served as
Callcredit's financial advisors. Evercore also acted as a joint
financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal
counsel.
About GTCR
Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm focused
on investing in growth companies in the Financial Services &
Technology, Healthcare, Technology, Media & Telecommunications
and Growth Business Services industries. The Chicago-based firm pioneered The Leaders
Strategy™ – finding and partnering with management leaders in core
domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies
through transformational acquisitions and organic growth. Since its
inception, GTCR has invested more than $15
billion in over 200 companies. For more information, please
visit www.gtcr.com.
About Callcredit
Callcredit is in the business of empowering information. We
provide the data, analytics, and software that enable businesses to
build more valuable customer relationships. We specialise in
managing consumer data for businesses across every
sector.
The Group is structured into three geographic markets: UK,
North America, and International
Markets. The markets are supported by five specialist line of
business teams: Credit & Marketing Data, Software &
Analytics, Fraud & ID, Consumer Markets, and Noddle. Callcredit
focuses on developing innovative products and services across these
specialisms to help businesses make smarter and informed decisions
throughout the customer lifecycle.
Founded in 2000, Callcredit includes the UK's second largest
credit reference agency (CRA) and employs more than 1,200
professionals across Leeds,
London, Stockport, Warrington and Kent, and its international offices in
Spain, U.S., Dubai and Lithuania and also has agents working across
international markets. In 2014, Callcredit was acquired by GTCR, a
leading private equity firm based in Chicago.
In a first for UK consumers, in 2011 Callcredit launched Noddle
(www.noddle.co.uk), the free-for-life credit reporting and scoring
service with no hidden fees or 30-day trial periods, which now has
more than three million customers. This service helps individuals
to check their credit report and credit score and protect against
fraud and identity theft.
Media Inquiries
Eileen Rochford
+1 (312) 953-3305
eileenr@theharbingergroup.com
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SOURCE GTCR