Global credit report company Experian agreed to buy a majority stake in Colombian credit services company Computec boosting its presence in Latin America.
In an press release, Experian said it was offering $5.84 for each Computec share valuing the whole company at $416.1 million.
The company stated “We are committed to accelerating the growth of our operations in Latin America. The increased presence of Experian in high growth markets like Colombia is a key part of our strategy. We already have a strong presence in Latin America with operations in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica and Mexico.”
Computec runs Colombia’s most extensive consumer credit database and provides services such as credit reports and fraud prevention. It also owns Venezuela’s only credit bureau and in 2010 the company had revenues of $88 million and operating profits of $23.6 million. Experian, with its headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, is listed on the London Stock Exchange and its total revenue for the year ending March 2010 was $3.9 billion.