TRW Reportedly in Talks to Sell Its Credit Report Unit

TRW Inc. is deep into negotiations to sell its Orange-based information systems and services subsidiary to a Boston investors group for an estimated $1 billion, sources said Wednesday.

A major Orange County employer, the TRW information unit is best known for its consumer credit reports. It also specializes in preparing business credit reports and real estate market data.

Although TRW executives declined to comment Wednesday on the reported negotiations with a pair of Boston investment firms, the 1,300 Orange County employees were told in a meeting late last month that a sale could be in the works.

One industry insider said that there has been a “flurry of calls to competitors” by TRW employees putting out feelers in case their jobs suddenly evaporate under new ownership.

TRW Information Systems and Services, the Cleveland-based conglomerate’s data unit, has 3,600 employees nationwide. A TRW spokeswoman wouldn’t comment on whether a sale would affect the millions of consumers whose credit data is collected by the unit.

Mergers and acquisitions specialists Bain Capital Inc. and Thomas H. Lee Co., reportedly the leaders of the investment group talking with TRW, declined comment Wednesday.

The division accounts for only about 6% of TRW’s total sales and its profit was down 10% from 1994.

TRW’s stock dropped 62.5 cents a share Wednesday to close at $86.875 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares jumped $2.875 Tuesday in the wake of a report about the information unit’s potential sale.

Times staff writers Don Lee and Debora Vrana contributed to this report.