Experian plc (LSE: EXPN), formerly known as CCN Systems, is a global credit information group, with operations in 36 countries. The company is part of the FTSE 100 Index.

The company employs 15,500 people. Experian's corporate headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland with operational headquarters in Nottingham, England and Costa Mesa, California, U.S..

The company's largest operation is Experian North America, a consumer credit reporting agency that is considered one of the three largest American credit agencies along with Equifax and TransUnion (there is also a 4th agency known as Innovis). As well as the US, Experian has operations in most European countries, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, South Africa, China, Japan and Australia.

History

The Company was founded by John Peace in 1980 in Nottingham as CCN systems, an information services business owned by GUS plc.

It acquired its US credit reporting business, formally known as TRW Information Services, from Bain Capital and the Thomas H. Lee Company in 1996.

Experian was demerged from the British company GUS plc in October 2006 and listed on the London Stock Exchange.

In December 2005 Experian acquired FootFall Ltd, an information provider to the retail and retail property industries. FootFall is now a product of Experian's marketing solutions division

In April 2007, Experian acquired Hitwise, an internet monitor that collects data directly from information service provider networks.

Activities

Experian's principal lines of business are credit services, marketing solutions, decision analytics and interactive services. The company collects information on people, businesses, motor vehicles and insurance. It also collects 'lifestyle' data from through on- and off-line surveys.

Its databases contain credit information on 215 million people in the United States and 450 million vehicles, including title and registration data. It provides address information for more than 20 billion promotional mail items to more than 100 million households every year. Experian also provides credit reports on businesses. This business unit partnered with eCredit (now Cortera) in June 2007.

Like the other major credit reporting bureaus, Experian is chiefly regulated in the United States by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, signed into law in 2003, amended the FCRA to require the credit reporting companies to provide consumers with one free copy of their credit report per 12 month period. Like its main competitors, TransUnion and Equifax, Experian markets credit reports directly to consumers. Experian heavily markets its for-profit credit reporting service, FreeCreditReport.com, and all three agencies have been criticized and even sued for selling credit reports that can be obtained at no cost.