Equifax Looks to Expand Brazilian Reach With Boa Vista Acquisition

Equifax has made an offer to acquire Brazilian credit services company Boa Vista Serviços.

Under the terms of the deal, Equifax would give shareholders 8 Brazilian reals ($1.51) per share in cash, a combination of cash and Brazilian Depositary Receipts (BDR) issued by Equifax, or a combination of Equifax shares and cash or BDRs in Equifax, according to a Monday (Dec. 19) press release.

“Equifax has been an investor in Boa Vista Serviços since 2011, and with this acquisition, we would bring powerful new insights to Brazilian lenders and service providers that would help them better understand their customers and promote greater financial inclusion,” said Equifax CEO Mark W. Begor in the release.

The acquisition would also give Boa Vista Serviços access to Equifax’s global reach and cloud-native data, products, decisioning and analytical technology to develop new products and services and expand into new industries, the release stated.

The financial services market in the Latin American region is developing rapidly, and the potential Equifax acquisition is part of a larger trend of expansion. Companies like Syncfy and Google Pay are growing financial services and payments customers to address the increasing market.

A 2021 PYMNTS research report, “Making Loyalty Work for Small Businesses: Brazil Edition,” found the Brazilian market is increasing in importance.

Five times as many Brazilian consumers trust banks over local businesses with their personal data, and 65% of consumers want banks to enable local businesses’ loyalty programs, according to the report.

Earlier this year, Equifax partnered with DebtTech company Trustfolio to launch a new open banking-powered feature designed to give debt advisers better access to bank transaction data.

“While we acknowledge that accessing a client’s banking data won’t always be appropriate or tell the whole story of their financial situation, the option and ability to do so instantly will save advisers time and improve client outcomes by providing a fuller picture of their circumstances,” said Ryan Hayes, chief operating officer of the advice sector at Trustfolio, at the time. “Debt advice sessions are becoming increasingly complex, so by removing the administrative burden, we hope to enable advisers to focus on what is most important when it comes to dealing with those in financial difficulty as demand for advice continues to grow.”