Madison Dearborn Sets $325M IPO For TransUnion

TransUnion Corp., which provides data and risk management services, plans to raise up to $325 million in an initial public offering of its shares. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as reported by sister news service Reuters, the company said BofA Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Securities, Deutsche Bank Securities, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley would underwrite the IPO.

The filing did not reveal the number of shares the Chicago-based company planned to sell or their expected price. TransUnion, which is backed by Chicago-based buyout shop Madison Dearborn Partners LLP, said it would use the proceeds from the offering to pay down debt. The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filing is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO can be different.

TransUnion is the third largest credit bureau in the United States, behind rivals Equifax and Experian. According to its Web site, TransUnion maintains credit histories on 500 million consumers and businesses worldwide.

Madison Dearborn acquired a 51 percent interest in TransUnion in April 2010, the Pritzker family, with the family retaining a 49 percent stake.

(Jochelle Mendonca is a correspondent for Reuters in Bangalore.)