New Direct Marketing Unit Poised for Growth, Innovation
ATLANTA, May 1, 2000
Equifax today completed its timely and strategic acquisition
of the Consumer Information Services group of R.L. Polk & Co.,
creating Equifax Consumer Information Services, a new direct marketing
arm of Equifax Inc. The companies announced the intended transaction
in February.
"Equifax is now positioned as a pre-eminent force in the
direct marketing industry," said Lee Kennedy, Equifax president
and chief operating officer. "With Polk's industry-leading
consumer lifestyle and demographic data, this new Consumer Information
Services" capability complements Equifax's vast consumer
credit information tools, Internet business, payment processing
services and customer relationship management products thus creating
a direct marketing powerhouse."
Equifax's new Consumer Information Services provides these capabilities:
Direct Marketing, including consumer list rental, direct marketing
campaigns and analytical services using demographic, lifestyle
and specialty data, including TotaList and The Lifestyle Selector
(TLS); data capture, database management and direct consumer communications
via its Survey of America, Buyer's Choice Surveys and Verity warranty
card programs; Compusearch /Prospects Unlimited, Canada's leader
in geodemographic market analysis, providing Canadian micro-marketing
data and database management, including TotaList Canada and The
Lifestyle Selector; and City Directory, a complete and enhanced
database of businesses and residences in more than 10,000 communities
in North America, providing cost-effective, targeted marketing
solutions.
John Healy, Equifax group executive of the new unit, said, "We
are delighted to now be part of Equifax because it allows us to
better meet the current and future needs of our direct-to-consumer
clients in the United States and Canada."
Equifax now manages not only the world's most valuable and respected
credit information databases but also North America's largest
consumer and self-reported lifestyle and demographic databases.
As a leader in privacy protection, Equifax will keep the two database
categories separate and provide all the necessary safeguards for
consumer information.
Equifax, a worldwide leader in shaping global commerce, brings
buyers and sellers together through its information management,
transaction processing and knowledge-based businesses. Atlanta-based
Equifax (NYSE: EFX) serves the financial services, retail, credit
card, telecommunications/utilities, transportation, information
technology and healthcare industries and government. Equifax adds
knowledge, expertise, convenience and security to provide value-added
solutions and processes for its customers wherever they do business,
including the Internet and other networks. Equifax employs more
than 13,000 associates in 16 countries with sales in almost 50
and has $1.8 billion in revenue.
Statements in this press release that relate to Equifax's future
plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like
are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Future events, risks and uncertainties,
individually or in the aggregate, could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements.
Those factors could include changes in worldwide and U.S. economic
conditions that materially impact consumer spending and consumer
debt, changes in demand for the Company's products and services,
risks associated with the integration of acquisitions and other
investments, and other factors discussed in the "Forward-looking
Information" and "Year 2000 Information" sections
in the management's discussion and analysis included at Part II,
Item 7 in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 1999.
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