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.

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