First American Acquires Experian Real Estate Services

April 15, 2005

SANTA ANA, Calif., /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF) has acquired Experian Real Estate Services (RES), formerly CBA Information Services, the direct mortgage credit reporting arm of Experian North America. The acquisition closed March 30, 2005, for an undisclosed purchase price.

Headquartered outside of Philadelphia, Experian RES provides mortgage specialty credit and settlement services including, merged credit reports, residential mortgage credit reports, property and tax reports, flood determinations, appraisal services and tax return verification.

Parker S. Kennedy, chairman and chief executive officer of The First American Corporation said: "This acquisition further strengthens our relationship with Experian and sets the stage for us to grow in the specialty credit services industry. Experian RES has a collection of affiliated credit-reporting agencies that have established a solid reputation among mortgage brokers and other clients by providing high quality services. As Experian consolidates these affiliate bureaus, we are excited to have the opportunity to add them to our operations, and we expect to benefit from the additional market share and opportunities to cross sell our settlement products to this expanded market."

Chris Callero, chief executive officer of Experian North America stated: "The sale of Experian Real Estate Services to First American is a continuation of our commitment to the strong partnership between our two companies. It allows us to focus on our core credit business lines outside of the mortgage industry, while still participating in the growth in these businesses through our existing joint venture with First American. Experian will continue to be the preferred provider of credit reporting services to First American CREDCO and will contribute to the value-added services they provide to the mortgage and automotive finance sectors."

"With the addition of Experian RES' 'pick-and-choose' credit-merge technology to First American's current suite of advanced merged-credit data options, we are now better able to serve the mortgage finance industry by offering every type of merge technology on the market, all available from one source -- First American," said Anand K. Nallathambi, president of The First American Corporation's Credit Information Group. "Our customers will immediately benefit from an extended product lineup, but the real benefit will come as we leverage our combined expertise and the input of our clients to develop the next generation of specialized credit and screening products for the mortgage industry."

Experian RES, which has approximately 90 employees, will be organized as a subsidiary of First American CREDCO. Walt Wojciechowski, the current senior vice president will continue to manage the company as senior vice president, reporting directly to Kathy Manzione, president of First American CREDCO Mortgage.

In March, The First American Corporation announced its intent to sell its Credit Information Group (CIG) to its majority-owned subsidiary, First Advantage Corporation (Nasdaq: FADV). The acquisition of the highly complementary credit-related services of CIG will further First Advantage's position as a leading business information and services provider by adding significant scale and creating a unique combination of data ownership, access and distribution. Today, First Advantage provides a suite of services to assist more than 45,000 clients nationwide with information to minimize risks undertaken when employing, leasing, underwriting, contracting and investing in people. First Advantage is a leader in all of its key business lines, which, following the transaction closing, will expand to include the mortgage/home equity credit, automotive finance and direct-to-consumer credit markets currently dominated by First American's Credit Information Group.

Source: The First American Corporation


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