Experian beefs up Latin American presence

3rd May 2011 14:52

Credit checking outfit Experian is to take a majority stake in Latin American credit services information provider Computec.Experian is offering COP$10,419 per share for Computec, which is listed on the Colombian stock exchange. The terms value the whole of Computec at around US$400m. Computec owns the market leading credit bureau in Colombia, including the most extensive database in Colombia on the credit behaviour of consumers, Experian said.Computec's products include the provision of on-line credit reports, scores, identity validation tools and fraud prevention services. The company serves a diverse customer base across financial services, telecommunications and other industry segments. Computec also provides outsource document services to business to business (B2B) clients such as document design, production and delivery. In addition, Computec owns the only credit bureau in Venezuela and an early stage development bureau in Peru."In assessing the opportunities for Computec and the growth prospects of the Colombian credit market, Experian has found many similarities to the assessment it made at the time of the acquisition of a majority stake in Serasa in Brazil in 2007," the company said.---jh