Experian PLC of Dublin said Wednesday that it has agreed to sell its transaction processing operations in France.
Advent International Corp., a Boston private-equity company, agreed to buy Experian's card processing operations, and La Poste Group, the state-owned French mail service, will buy the business process outsourcing unit. Experian will receive $277 million for the two transactions, which are expected to close this year.
Proceeds from the sale would be used to repay bank borrowings, Experian said.
For the year that ended March 31, Experian reported $341 million of revenue, and $37 million of earnings before interest and taxes, from transaction processing activities in France.
It said it would still have a strong operation in France, through its decision analytics and marketing activities.
In February, Experian said it was reviewing how its PriceGrabber online price comparison service fit within its portfolio. As part of this process, Experian said Wednesday, it considered divesting the business and talked to a number of parties about it.
In light of the current funding environment for potential buyers, Experian said, it concluded that divestment is not in the best interests of shareholders.
PriceGrabber is an attractive business with good prospects, the parent said.
