Early days in the UK
Experian traces its origins to CCN, an information services business established in 1980 by our former parent company, GUS. The business had grown out of an internal department providing credit checking facilities and marketing information to other parts of the GUS group. CCN developed the databases, systems and analytical skills needed to support a wide range of consumer lending, becoming the UK's leading credit bureau.
Between 1980 and 1996, CCN expanded into adjacent business lines in the UK, including credit account processing, direct marketing, business information and micromarketing. The breadth of services meant that major lenders, such as the US credit card issuers that moved into the UK market in the mid-1990s, could rely on CCN as a single source provider of many of the services needed to develop a credit card programme in the UK. CCN was also expanding geographically, with the development of an international office network, principally to sell and implement analytical products.
Expanding into the US
CCN's first expansion into the US came in 1986 with the acquisition of Management Decision Systems (MDS), a leading provider of decision analytics to the financial services industry. The acquisition of MDS added scale, a highly skilled workforce, additional products and geographic reach to the core CCN Decision Analytics business, including expansion into Canada and Australia.
In 1996, GUS significantly increased its presence in the US market with the acquisition of the former TRW credit, decision analytics, direct marketing and real estate information businesses. GUS then went on to acquire the direct marketing companies Direct Marketing Technologies (Direct Tech, 1997) and Metromail Corporation (1998) in the US. The combination of these businesses established Experian as a leading global provider of information and decision analytics.
Further acquisitions
Since 2002, Experian has expanded through organic development, as well as through strategic acquisitions. The number of acquisitions during this time has totalled more than 50 at a cost of over $4bn. These included the acquisition in 2002 of ConsumerInfo.com, which strengthened our presence in the direct-to-consumer market and formed the foundation of our Interactive business. In 2003, we acquired the outstanding stake in Scorex, a global decision analytics company, to accelerate developments in this area. In 2005, the acquisition of PriceGrabber.com provided further strength to the Interactive business. In 2006, we acquired ClarityBlue to complement the database management skills of our Marketing Solutions business. Our most recent acquisitions have included Hitwise, an Internet market intelligence company, and Serasa, the leading credit bureau in Brazil..
Experian today
Experian is a global leader in providing information, analytical and marketing services to organisations and consumers to help manage the risk and reward of commercial and financial decisions. Today we employ around 15,500 people in 36 countries, supporting clients in more than 65 countries.
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