Bologna, Italy, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 10, 2014

CRIF has announced the acquisition of Dun & Bradstreet UAE (which is responsible for the Dun & Bradstreet business throughout the United Arab Emirates) from Dun & Bradstreet South Asia Middle East Limited (“DBSAME”). The acquisition will strengthen CRIF’s industry-leading position in the field of business and credit information, and risk management solutions in the region as a member of the D&B Worldwide Network for the United Arab Emirates.

Established in Dubai in 2004 by DBSAME, Dun & Bradstreet UAE is the leading data and business information provider in the region. Dun & Bradstreet UAE, headquartered in Dubai, provides services and business information to the United Arab Emirates business community thanks to the region’s most comprehensive database, with information on about 400,000 companies, almost all active companies, as well as access to the D&B Worldwide Network.

The acquisition is part of CRIF’s global strategy, with increasing investments over recent years, and the commitment to provide the Southwest Asian market with greater added-value services and products. The solutions offered by CRIF and its subsidiaries worldwide will make it possible to respond more effectively to the needs of an increasingly demanding market in terms of advanced solutions and IT flexibility. 

Moreover, CRIF’s decision support systems and software solutions combined with Dun & Bradstreet UAE data and risk management solutions will help clients optimize existing business processes in a very efficient and innovative way and strengthen relationships with other countries in Asia.
 
“The United Arab Emirates is a country characterized by a high rate of growth and significant potential. For this reason, we were committed to entering the market and extend our presence there - said Carlo Gherardi, President and CEO of CRIF -. The integration of CRIF with Dun & Bradstreet UAE solutions represents a further step in CRIF’s expansion in the global market, and particularly, the Southwest Asian region. Highly focused on innovation and customer service, we strive to develop our value proposition. Building on synergies between the two companies, we will be able to provide added-value risk assessment and decision management solutions, and support our mutual customers in increasing their profitability.”

“DBSAME will continue on its journey of focusing on growth markets in the rest of GCC, South Asia and Africa. In particular, we will continue investing in our business information data assets and credit bureaus. We believe that the commercial information space in the Region has several attractive opportunities to deploy capital” - said Mr. Misbah Ahmad, Vice Chairman of DBSAME and Managing Director of MESA Partners.

About Dun & Bradstreet South Asia Middle East Ltd (DBSAME) & MESA Partners

DBSAME represents the business of D&B in over 70 countries spanning across Middle East, South Asia & Africa. With a physical presence in over 15 markets and credit bureaus across 19 markets, DBSAME has established itself as a dominant player in the Region. DBSAME is a joint venture between Dun & Bradstreet International and a private equity fund MESA Holdings I LP, which is managed by MESA Partners.