CRIF consolidates its credit bureau business in Poland
Bologna, 3rd January 2023 - CRIF - a global company specializing in credit and business information systems, analytics, outsourcing and processing services, as well as advanced digital solutions for business development and open banking - announces the signing of an agreement for the acquisition of 100% of shares in ERIF Biuro Informacji Gospodarczej S.A. and EBS sp. z o.o., owned by KRUK Group, one of the leaders in the debt management market in Central Europe.
The transfer of title will take place after fulfilling formal obligations, not later than in February 2023.
The future acquisition of ERIF Biuro Informacji Gospodarczej S.A and EBS sp. z o.o. will strengthen the position of CRIF Poland in the local financial services market in terms of developing a customer portfolio, building databases and developing human capital. ERIF and EBS provide in the Polish market the necessary business information to support decision-making, debt collection processes and fraud detection.
In particular, the future acquisition of ERIF and EBS marks a further step along the multi-year path characterized by significant investments aimed at expanding CRIF's services ecosystem.
"The acquisition of ERIF and EBS is part of the growth strategy we’ve been implementing for several years now with acquisitions. It represents an important opportunity for CRIF to further consolidate its leadership in Poland. It will allow an expansion of the dataset at our disposal and the improvement and increase in the number of services and modern technological and financial solutions available to the local market," commented Carlo Gherardi, Chairman and CEO of CRIF.
The ERIF Credit Bureau is supplied to a large extent by business information providers other than the Krajowe Biuro Informacji Gosporadczej S.A., which has been part of CRIF Group since 2016, and it also supports entities from industries not yet served by CRIF Poland. Customers of CRIF Group in Poland have now access to the most comprehensive offering on the Polish market in the area of consumer and business information to support credit and anti-fraud processes to the greatest extent.
“The ERIF Credit Bureau has always been close to us due to the similar perception of challenges in the area of business information, strong organizational culture and highly skilled teams. As a result, this acquisition strengthens CRIF Group in Poland in three key areas: data, customers and team. Our task over the coming months will be to quickly integrate the product offering of CRIF, KBIG, ERIF, EBS and achieve synergies resulting from joint activities, so as to better address the needs of our customers in Poland,” said Piotr Badura, Country Manager of CRIF Poland.
“Today's transaction is a result of the transformation that KRUK Group has undergone in recent years. As a result, KRUK's Management Board has focused even more strongly on the core business line of debt management, especially in international terms,” commented Piotr Krupa, CEO KRUK S.A.- “Our goal is to continue the international development and technological change we are undergoing. Business information has been a core business for our Group since 2007 and supports us in the debt recovery process. We intend to continue cooperation in this area, but on the basis of separate ownership structures.”
Source: CRIF Press
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