Financial essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial - Essay Example (Experian Plc. 2010) This company, in its history, has acquired numerous other corporations allowing it to expand its products and services. By 2009, Experian, Plc. declared in its annual report that its business now covers the provision of information, analytical tools and marketing services to organizations on a global scale which helps their clients manage risks, find and retain customers as well as automate decision-making. Experian, Plc. has a long history of mergers and acquisition. The main player in Experian’s development, however, was TRW. In 1996, TRW sold its Information System & Services Division to an investor group which in turn sold it to the British General Universal Store PLC (GUS PLC), which later merged the division with CCN. (Jentzsch 2007, p. 73) This conglomerate became what is now known as Experian and has an accumulated 240 million consumers in its file with a strategy guided by an aggressive acquisition around the world. (p. 73) Experian’s Information Solutions alone works with over 50,000 clients across industries including financial services, telecommunications, healthcare insurance, retail, catalog, automotive, manufacturing, leisure, utilities, property, e-commerce and government. (Plunkett 2006) As previously mentioned, Experian, Plc. follows an aggressive acquisition strategy around the world, successfully penetrating many European countries and as far as South Korea and South Africa. The latest of its overseas foray involved the acquisition of the full license to operate a credit bureau in India. This emphasis on merger activity is driven by the aim to gain competitive advantage by acquiring a wide range of services. According to Jenzsch, Experian has two other big rivals and that the competition is fierce with the high volume of credit reports needed by industries and consumers. (p. 74) All in all Experian’s range of merger activities reflect a vision which involved: The