Equifax (NYSE: EFX) has completed the acquisition of Boa Vista Serviços, which claims to be the second largest credit bureau in Brazil.
This strategic and financially attractive acquisition “grows Equifax‘s presence in Brazil and offers Boa Vista Serviços customers access to expansive Equifax international capabilities and cloud-native solutions.”
Equifax acquired Boa Vista Serviços “for R$8.00 per share, implying an estimated total enterprise value of R$3.1 billion, or USD$640 million based on a USD/BRL exchange rate of 4.8080 (PTAX as of August 2, 2023).”
Boa Vista Serviços, an Equifax company, is now “a wholly-owned subsidiary of Equifax do Brasil (Equifax Brasil). Equifax owns 80 percent of Equifax Brasil, with Associação Comercial de São Paulo (ACSP) and certain other former Boa Vista Serviços shareholders holding the other 20 percent.”
Mark W. Begor, CEO of Equifax, said:
“Boa Vista Serviços is the 14th acquisition that Equifax has completed since 2021. The combination of our companies marks an exciting new global chapter for both Equifax and Boa Vista Serviços customers and employees, expanding the Equifax International footprint in the large and fast-growing $2 billion Brazilian total addressable market. We believe that more data drives better decisions, and this merger offers Boa Vista Serviços access to our global capabilities and cloud-native data, products, decisioning and analytical technology for the rapid development of new products and services and expansion into new vertical industries. I am energized to welcome Márcio Fabbris and Boa Vista Serviços to the Equifax team!”
Márcio Fabbris will continue “in his leadership position as CEO of Boa Vista Serviços, an Equifax company. Former Equifax CEO Paulino Barros will join the Equifax Brasil board of directors, helping drive integration into the Equifax Cloud and champion the development of new cloud-based solutions.”
Márcio Fabbris, CEO of Boa Vista Serviços, an Equifax company, said:
“This merger will enable us to drive new, innovative solutions to address the challenges and needs of the Brazilian market – the seventh most populated country in the world. We look forward to working with Equifax to bring new products and capabilities leveraging the global Equifax Cloud platform to Brazilian lenders and service providers to help them better understand their customers and promote greater financial inclusion to meet the needs of the approximately 34 million unbanked or underbanked consumers in Brazil.”
With an in-depth understanding of global credit needs, Equifax is now “driving cloud-based innovation in consumer credit, commercial credit, and digital enablement that spans geographies.”
The company’s Equifax Cloud transformation “enables Equifax to scale and adapt for the specific needs of the countries in which it operates.” It further enables “the sharing of learnings and strengths from each region to help other regions identify and execute effectively on new growth opportunities.”
The Equifax Cloud, combined “with Equifax’s unique data assets, leading decisioning and analytical solutions, and Identity and Fraud solutions will help accelerate Boa Vista Serviços’s digital transformation and increase the scale of the Boa Vista Serviços business for continued success – meeting the evolving needs of both consumers and lenders in Brazil.”
Lisa Nelson, President of International at Equifax, said:
“By optimizing our cloud-based global technology and product capabilities, we’re able to drive relevant, market-focused innovation. We’re also able to scale and adapt for the specific needs of the countries in which we operate. At the same time, we’re focused on bringing more of our existing Equifax enterprise strengths into our international regions. Boa Vista Serviços has more than a decade of history in the Brazilian market and we look forward to collaborating on their continued expansion.”
BofA Securities served as financial advisors to Equifax, and Hogan Lovells US LLP and Machado Meyer Advogados acted as legal counsel to Equifax.
This acquisition is “not expected to have a material impact on 2023 Equifax financial results. For more information about Equifax and the global markets it serves, please visit Equifax.com.”