According to people familiar with the matter, TransUnion information-services company Neustar Inc. is close to a deal to buy Co. for $3.1 billion, a move that could help the consumer-credit reporting giant diversify beyond its core business and bring data to new uses.
The closely held Neustar buyout could be finalized by Monday, the people said, assuming talks don’t fall apart at the last minute.
Reston, VA-based Neustar uses analytics and modeling to help businesses identify potential customers and determine which ads to display to them, according to its website. It also provides cyber security services.
Chicago-based TransUnion, with a market value of approximately $24 billion, is one of the leading credit-reporting firms along with Experian plc and Equifax Inc.
TransUnion has been known to sell credit reports and other consumer data to lenders for underwriting purposes. Along with others in the industry, it is adding capabilities as more businesses adopt their own criteria for assessing customers. The Biden administration has indicated interest in setting up a government-backed consumer-credit firm.
TransUnion chief executive Christopher Cartwright, who held the top role in 2019, has stressed in recent earnings calls on the company’s plans to use the trove of data it handles. TransUnion has recently made several smaller acquisitions and forays into areas including insurance and fraud prevention. The Neustar deal will be TransUnion’s biggest deal since its 2015 initial public offering.
Fraudulent shopping, in particular, has become a growing issue as consumers make more of their purchases online. There is also a demand for fraud-prevention services among credit-card issuers, who are sometimes on the hook when such purchases are made with their cards.
Equifax earlier this year bought fraud-prevention company Count Inc. in its first major acquisition since it suffered a 2017 big data breach.
TransUnion’s most recent major acquisition was a more than $1 billion deal in 2018 to buy consumer-lending and identity-verification company CallCredit Information Group Ltd.
An investor group led by Golden Gate Capital that also includes Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC took Neustar private in 2017 in a deal worth about $1.8 billion. Neustar was part of Lockheed Martin Corp before the defense contractor pulled itself out of business in 1999. Neustar went public in 2005.
This story has been published without modification to the text from a wire agency feed
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