Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) today announced it has reached a definitive agreement with MMI Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) (MMI) under which MMI will acquire Equifax Medical Credentials Verification Services. The divestiture completes Equifax's previously announced exit from the health information field. Details of the agreement were not disclosed. Equifax Medical Credentials Verification Services (EMCVS) is a leading provider of primary source verification services to hospitals and managed care organizations, which need to verify the education, licensure and other medical credentials of physicians associated with the institution.
"With this divestiture Equifax completes its previously announced exit from the health information field," said Daniel W. McGlaughlin, Equifax President and CEO. "We decided to exit the health information field, in part, to allow us more freedom to take greater advantage of growing opportunities in our core business areas of financial and insurance services. We are proceeding on that course with new strategies to bring added value to our shareholders."
In addition to EMCVS, the other businesses that once made up the Equifax Health Information Services Group and now have been sold include Equifax Health EDI Services, Equifax Health Analytical Services and Equifax Health Administrative Services. However, the decision to exit the health information sector does not mean Equifax is ending its other ties to the health industry. Equifax Financial Services Group and Insurance Services Group will continue to serve a wide variety of health industry customers, and insurance services units like Osborn Laboratories are not affected.
Equifax also recently announced plans to spin off its Insurance Services Group sometime next year as an independent company because of the Group's strong growth and its diverging strategic interests.
EMCVS provides a full-range of credentials verification services and also offers the industry's only available on-line access to an extensive national database that enables managed care organizations and hospitals to verify physician credentials immediately, saving time and money. The company was among the first to receive certification from the National Committee for Quality Insurance and did so for 10 out of 10 verification services.
"This acquisition, which merges the Equifax business into our Healthcare Credentials Management Service, solidifies our leadership in the medical credentials verification field. This expanded capability is a wonderful complement to our already broad array of integrated products and services reflecting MMI's unique expertise and commitment to the principles of risk management as a means to enhance the quality of care and to control costs." said B. Frederick Becker, Chairman and CEO of MMI Companies, Inc.
MMI Companies Inc. is an international healthcare risk management company providing a wide range of products to help the healthcare industry manage risks associated with healthcare delivery. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides professional liability insurance and reinsurance, education and information management products, clinical and financial risk management services, managed care design and infrastructure development products and strategic management and employee relations consultancy services. MMI has headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois with an extensive network of offices throughout the United States and overseas.
Equifax Inc., committed to Global Information Leadership for the Information Age, is the leading provider of information services that help businesses grant credit, authorize and process credit card and check transactions and insure lives and property. Established in 1899 in Atlanta, Equifax today employs 14,000 people throughout North and South America, the United Kingdom and continental Europe. Revenues for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 1996, exceeded $1.7 billion.