Equifax Strikes Deal To Buy Kount

Equifax has inked a deal to purchase artificial intelligence (AI)-powered fraud prevention and digital identity technology provider Kount for $640 million. Kount’s staff members will become a part of Equifax’s United States Information Solutions (USIS) business unit and will still be based in Boise, Idaho, according to a Friday (Jan. 8) announcement.

“As digital migration accelerates, managing authentication and online fraud while optimizing the consumer’s experience has become one of our customers’ top challenges,” Equifax CEO Mark W. Begor said in the announcement. “The acquisition of Kount will expand Equifax’s differentiated data assets to bring global businesses the information and solutions they need to establish identity trust online.”

The deal will grow Equifax’s global presence in digital identity and fraud prevention offerings, as it helps companies better work with their customers as they fight fraud through the Kount Identity Trust Global Network, according to the announcement.

The Kount Identity Trust Global Network harnesses AI to connect trust and fraud data signals from 32 billion online interactions, 17 billion unique devices and five billion yearly transactions throughout 200 nations and territories, according to the company.

Kount CEO Bradley Wiskirchen said that over 9,000 brands worldwide depend on the Kount Identity Trust Global Network “to protect against digital fraud while enabling personalized customer experiences and new eCommerce channels,” according to the announcement.

“Equifax’s global reach will accelerate Kount’s international adoption, allowing us to help more businesses around the world to better protect their digital innovations and their customers against emerging threats while improving the customer experience,” Wiskirchen said.

The deal, which is anticipated to close in Q1 of 2021, is subject to “customary closing conditions and regulatory review,” the announcement stated.

“Together, Equifax and Kount will leverage a powerful set of differentiated data assets and advanced analytics to deliver a high-performance, integrated view of both digitally-native transactions and signals and traditional offline identity fraud risk indicators while maintaining privacy and security at the highest levels,” Sid Singh, president of USIS at Equifax, said in the announcement.