TransUnion has acquired a 71% ownership interest in CIFIN (Central de Informacion Financiera), one of two primary credit bureaus in Colombia, for approximately $127 million.
Colombia has one of the largest Latin American economies and is experiencing strong growth and the rapid development of a middle class. TransUnion has had a presence in Colombia for many years, building the first risk score in the market more than a decade ago.
CIFIN was established 35 years ago and covers both positive and negative data on consumer behavior. This full-file data empowers lenders to make holistic decisions and reward responsible behavior, enabling greater financial inclusion for consumers. It offers a portfolio of products and services for Colombian consumers and customers across multiple industries, including financial services, insurance, telecommunications, retail and manufacturing.
"TransUnion's growth strategy focuses on international expansion in emerging markets, and Latin America is a key region of focus," said Jim Peck, TransUnion's president and CEO. "We are delighted to add Colombia to our family of 10 other Latin American markets and look forward to leveraging our global data, analytics and technology capabilities for the benefit of Colombian banks, businesses and consumers.” The acquisition builds TransUnion's Latin America portfolio, where the company is already the market leader in five Central American countries and has a strong presence in Brazil, Chile and Mexico. The largest Colombian banks have been investing heavily in Central America. David Neenan, president of TransUnion's International business, said CIFIN is a "great company in an attractive market with a long and successful history of using data to deliver differentiated insights to customers. We identified CIFIN as an opportunity for acquisition several years ago, and the time is right now. Joining forces with CIFIN is a terrific opportunity to leverage our global operating model and technology platform to accelerate performance.” Maria Olga Rehbein, TransUnion's regional president in Latin America, said CIFIN's customers are hunting for new solutions that have been proven in markets worldwide. "As the Colombian economy grows, we are well positioned to help businesses manage risk and consumers access the services that lead to a higher quality of life,” she said.CIFIN was previously owned by Colombia's top banks, who have agreed to remain close partners to TransUnion. Inverlink served as adviser to TransUnion on the transaction.
