Equifax buys Mexico's Círculo de Crédito for $750 million

Equifax Inc. agreed to acquire Círculo de Crédito, Mexico's fastest-growing credit bureau, for $750 million in an all-cash deal that marks the company's largest push into Latin America's second-largest economy.

"The acquisition of Círculo de Crédito expands Equifax into Mexico, the second largest economy in Latin America, and gives their customers access to our cloud-native technology, decisioning and analytics capabilities," Mark Begor, chief executive officer of Equifax, said on an investor call. He described Círculo as the only credit bureau in Mexico licensed to operate both consumer and commercial credit bureau services.

Círculo generated $134 million in revenue for the 12 months ended June 30, up 31% from a year earlier, with adjusted EBITDA margins of 46%. The $750 million enterprise value represents 11.7 times adjusted EBITDA at closing, or about 9.4 times including expected run-rate synergies, according to Begor. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

The acquisition gives Equifax a foothold in a market where more than 25% of Mexico's population lacks access to formal financial products and nearly 44% does not have a bank account, Begor said. Círculo holds 2 billion trade lines covering 80 million validated identities across more than 1,700 clients spanning banks, retailers, fintechs and telecommunications providers. More than 40% of Círculo's 2025 revenue came from fintech customers, a segment that grew more than 50%.

Strategic rationale and integration

Equifax plans to layer its cloud-native technology, AI analytics platform EFX.AI, fraud prevention tools and identity products onto Círculo's infrastructure, mirroring the playbook it used after acquiring Brazil's Boa Vista. Begor said Boa Vista has outperformed expectations since that deal, giving the company confidence in its integration approach.

The company expects the acquisition to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share in its first full year of ownership and to deliver mid-double-digit returns, well above Equifax's cost of capital. Equifax forecasts free cash flow exceeding $1 billion in 2026 and said it can complete the deal while maintaining balance sheet leverage below three times.

Círculo's position in alternative data — including gig economy transactions and utility payment history — was a key attraction, Begor said. Many Mexican consumers without bank accounts first build credit through retail financing for appliances or furniture, making Círculo's data from retailers and fintechs a competitive advantage against TransUnion, which owns the previously bank-owned consumer credit bureau in Mexico.

The Círculo transaction is Equifax's 17th bolt-on acquisition since 2020, totaling nearly $5 billion in deployed capital, according to Begor. The company has had an application with Mexican regulators to form a credit bureau for several years, which Begor said could accelerate the approval timeline compared with TransUnion's recent acquisition process in the country.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.