Equifax Italy SRL's core business includes the provision of consumer and business information to the financial services sector as well as real estate information, which is required by banks prior to granting secured credit. The company, which was originally known as SEK, has been operating in Italy for nearly 30 years. During this time, SEK secured its position as one of only four major data providers in the Italian market and created a well-established data collection network across Italy. SEK was acquired by Equifax in November 2000, subsequently changing its name to Equifax Italy SRL.

Announcing the acquisition, Nigel Fine, Managing Director of Experian International, said: "This strengthens Experian’s position in the Italian banking sector and affirms our leading position as a global provider of information solutions.

"Experian is very active in Italy and our Information Services division has experienced significant growth over the past nine years. This acquisition will help Experian to complement its current offering in Italy and strengthen its core consumer and business databases. It will allow us in future to introduce more of our innovative, value added products such as ID authentication and bureau scores to the Italian market, delivering major benefits to our clients."

The acquisition of Equifax Italy SRL is consistent with Experian's global strategy of acquiring complementary businesses that provide further data assets, while leveraging the core analytic capabilities within the Experian group.