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Equifax To Acquire Direct Marketing Businesses From R.L. Polk & Co.

Acquisition Positions Equifax as Major Force in Direct Marketing Industry and Will Advance the Company's CRM Strategy, Enhance Core Information Business and Open New Markets and New Growth Opportunities

Equifax to Create a New Direct Marketing Unit to Manage One of North America's Largest and Most Valuable Databases of Consumer Lifestyle and Demographic Information

ATLANTA AND DETROIT, (Feb. 10, 2000) - Equifax (NYSE: EFX), a worldwide leader in consumer information management, transaction processing and customer relationship management solutions, and privately held R.L. Polk & Co., a premier marketing information services provider, today announced a definitive agreement for Equifax to acquire Polk's Consumer Information Solutions (CIS) Group. The innovative and industry-leading consumer lifestyle and demographic data and direct marketing capabilities developed by Polk's CIS Group complement Equifax's vast consumer credit information, e-commerce, customer relationship management and payment products and services, while positioning Equifax as a major force in the direct marketing industry.

Under the recently signed definitive agreement, Equifax will pay approximately $260 million to Polk for its CIS Group that comprises four units: Direct Marketing, Data Information Services/Polk Verity, Compusearch/Prospects Unlimited of Polk Canada and Polk City Directory.

These businesses, with projected sales of $165 million for the 12 months ending March 31, 2000, represent a highly valuable source of consumer information from more than 250 data sources on 180 million consumers (105 million households), including product registration data, direct marketing, geodemographic and analytical services. Equifax, advised by Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., plans to complete the transaction that is subject to certain terms and closing conditions by April 30, 2000. Equifax expects the transaction to have minimal dilution in fiscal year 2000 and to be accretive in the first 12 months of operations and thereafter.

The benefits of the acquisition will be to:

  • Add world-class consumer lifestyle and demographic databases to complement Equifax?s industry-leading credit information, analytic, decisioning, e-commerce and payment services;
  • Utilize a team of 2,000 CIS employees, including some of the most highly regarded direct marketing professionals across the United States, Canada and Costa Rica.
  • Accelerate the growth of Equifax?s North America Information Services business through cross-selling solutions to a wide range of industries;
  • Advance Equifax?s customer relationship management strategy that enables businesses to build more insightful relationships with their customers by understanding their buying preferences;
  • Continue the legacy and safeguards for responsible management of sensitive consumer information, and
  • Create value for consumers by enabling Equifax customers to target consumer product offerings in line with consumer preferences.

"This acquisition is a defining moment in the history of our company, and an essential component to advancing our strategies for growth in the future," said Tom Chapman, Equifax chairman and chief executive officer. "The Polk Consumer Information Solutions business has played a significant role in providing highly valuable consumer marketing information to a wide range of industries. This acquisition enables Equifax to introduce new ways to market world-class lifestyle and demographic data and gives us a leadership position in the direct marketing industry."

"Equifax's outstanding reputation for managing large volumes of sensitive consumer credit information is well known in the direct marketing industry," said Stephen Polk, chairman and chief executive officer of Polk. "This acquisition is a strategic fit for Equifax that combines the capabilities and talent of Equifax and CIS to provide enormous competitive advantage. It is a collective win for both Polk and Equifax, their employees, customers and shareholders."

After this acquisition, Equifax will not only manage the world's most valuable and respected credit information, but also North America's largest consumer and self-reported lifestyle and demographic databases. The Equifax consumer credit database will remain separate from the acquired lifestyle and demographic databases.

Equifax Gains Presence Among Premier Consumer Goods Manufacturers Equifax will create a new unit that will provide the following capabilities through the four businesses: Direct Marketing: List processing, direct marketing campaigns and analytical services using consumer demographic, lifestyle and specialty data, including TotaList and The Lifestyle Selector (TLS); Data Information Services/Polk Verity: data capture, database management and direct consumer communications via its Survey of America, Buyer's Choice Surveys and Polk Verity warranty card programs.

Compusearch/Prospects Unlimited, Canada?s leader in geodemographic market analysis, providing Canadian micro-marketing data and database management, including TotaList Canada and The Lifestyle Selector; and Polk City Directory, a complete and enhanced database of businesses and residences in more than 10,000 communities in North America, providing cost-effective, targeted marketing solutions.

"CIS has a strong management team and a well-established and formidable presence in the consumer goods manufacturing industry, with 150 of the world's premier consumer goods manufacturers as customers," said Lee Kennedy, Equifax president and chief operating officer. "Our goal in this acquisition is to enable Equifax to provide powerful direct marketing, consumer information and customer relationship management solutions to enable our customers to build knowledgeable relationships with their customers. We have been impressed with the Polk CIS team and their unparalleled success in the direct marketing industry. We expect the management team and employees to remain and we look forward to welcoming them to Equifax."

Kennedy also announced that John Healy, senior vice president and general manager of CIS?s direct marketing unit, will lead Equifax?s new unit as executive vice president and group executive, reporting to Kennedy. Before joining Polk in 1997, Healy held senior-level marketing positions at ADVO, Salient Technologies and Pepsi USA. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Hartford and Bachelor of Science from Bryant College.

Equifax, Polk Synonymous with Protecting Consumer Information

Equifax and Polk are recognized leaders in protecting the privacy of consumer information. This acquisition ensures that the legacy and the safeguards for all the acquired databases will continue under Equifax.

"I have found Equifax and Polk to take privacy of consumer information very seriously," said Alan Westin, professor emeritus at Columbia University, leading privacy expert and consultant to Equifax for more than a decade. "Both Equifax and Polk have developed exemplary privacy principles and procedures for managing consumer information. Together, I expect them to recognize the delicate balance between consumer concerns about privacy and the legitimate use of information to empower consumers and businesses in the world's most dynamic economy."

About Polk

Polk provides multi-dimensional intelligence information solutions to companies as a statistician and analytical consultant for the motor vehicle industry; as a direct-marketing resource; as a supplier of demographic and lifestyle data and database-marketing services; as a publisher of city directories; and as a data enabler for geographic information systems. Based in Southfield, Mich., Polk is a privately held firm founded in 1870 that is expanding globally, currently operating in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, Spain, Holland, China and Costa Rica.

About Equifax

Equifax, a worldwide leader in shaping global commerce, brings buyers and sellers together through its information management, transaction processing and customer relationship management businesses. Atlanta-based Equifax (NYSE: EFX) serves the financial services, retail, credit card, telecommunications/utilities, transportation, information technology and healthcare industries and government. Equifax adds knowledge, expertise, convenience and security to provide value-added solutions and processes for its customers wherever they do business, including the Internet and other networks. Equifax employs more than 13,000 associates in 17 countries with sales in almost 50 and has $1.8 billion in revenue.

 

Statements in this press release that relate to Equifax's future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Future events, risks and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Those factors could include changes in worldwide and U.S. economic conditions that materially impact consumer spending and consumer debt, changes in demand for the Company's products and services, risks associated with the integration of acquisitions and other investments, and other factors discussed in the "Forward-looking Information" section in the management's discussion and analysis included at Part II, Item 7 in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998, and in the "Year 2000 Information" section in the management's discussion and analysis included at Part I, Item 2 in the Company's report on Form 10-Q for the third quarter of 1999.

 

Acquisition at a Glance

Equifax Inc.
Headquarters: Atlanta, GA
Founded: 1899
Employees: 13,000
FY 1999 Revenue: $1.8 Billion

R.L. Polk & Co.
Headquarters: Southfield, Mich.
Founded: 1870
Employees: 4,000

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