Credit checking firm seeks buyer for price comparison website

Credit checking firm seeks buyer for price comparison website

Experian paid $485m (£247m) less than three years ago for PriceGrabber, which allows consumers to compare prices online for a wide range of products from toys to furniture, and lawn mowers to electronics.

In a statement yesterday it said it had begun a review of the business but that it was still at an early stage.

Experian is facing difficult conditions because of the credit crunch and last month said it would lay off hundreds of staff as it wrestles with a slump in spending by US and UK banks. The company gets a large chunk of its business from retailers and banks who need credit background checks on borrowers; a business that has slowed along with loans and mortgages. At the time, Experian said it was planning a review of its operations, aimed at trimming its portfolio and cutting costs by about $80m a year.

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The business has appointed the merger and acquisitions adviser, Allen & Company, to investigate the options for selling off PriceGrabber, which was set up in America.

Sources close to the company claim it has had a number of approaches in the past and has now decided to test how they translate into firm offers for the business. Dublin-based Experian employs more than 15,000 people in 36 countries and has annual sales nudging £2bn. In the company's third quarter interim management statement last month Experian's chief executive officer, Don Robert, had tried to remain upbeat. "Experian has continued to perform well in difficult market conditions," he told investors. Overall, the business achieved revenue growth of 22% and organic revenue growth of 2%. "While trading conditions are not expected to improve in the fourth quarter, our focus is on maximising profitability and we are today announcing a programme of significant efficiency measures."

Price comparison websites have been under pressure. The Daily Mail group recently closed its site, SimplySwitch, which it had bought a year earlier. Shares in another, moneysupermarket.com, which floated on the stock market in July, have almost halved to 113.5p after peaking at 215p.