FYI, the Name’s Experian : TRW Credit Unit Will Have New Identity
Credit reporting giant TRW Information Systems & Services moved a step closer to independence Wednesday as it selected the new name--Experian--to use when it separates later this year from its conglomerate parent.
The 3,600-employee information systems unit of TRW Inc. is being spun off and taken private in a $1.1-billion buyout expected to be completed by early October. TRW, based in Cleveland, will continue to hold a minority stake in the data reporting company.
Industry observers say that while “TRW” is synonymous with “credit report” to many consumers, the name change won’t be a difficult transition. Orange-based TRW Information collects financial information on 190 million people, but its actual customers are 50,000 to 60,000 businesses.
“They don’t really care what it calls itself as long as it provides fast and accurate information,.” said Robert V. Bolen, information services industry analyst with J.C. Brandford & Co. in Nashville.
The new name, chosen after reviewing hundreds of possibilities, reflects the company’s “experience and expertise” in the information industry, said George Jurkowich, vice president of communications and a member of the name selection team. He said the company will be registered as Experian Information Solutions Inc., but the full name will be used only on legal documents.
Jurkowich declined to share names the company considered and discarded because some could still be used for new products that Experian will be marketing.
After years of concentrating on credit reporting, TRW Information Systems has developed a new software system that will enable it to bundle information in its credit files into a variety of formats.
The company already sells direct marketing lists and has a real estate information service. It is expected to launch a number of new information products as it goes out on its own.
“We have a lot of new customers emerging, and to them there is no immediate linkage with the TRW name, so that makes the name change easier,” Jurkowich said.
The buyout deal gives the company the right to use the TRW name for up to two years and Jurkowich said there undoubtedly will be many references in Experian’s marketing materials to its former identity as TRW Information Systems.
“It’s not like Ford changing its name, but we’ll still want to remind people of our TRW roots,” he said. “And we will be making a great effort to ensure that consumer groups in this industry know and can tell consumers that our name has changed.”
Jurkowich said the company has not yet designed a new logo or selected a color scheme or typeface for its new name. It is likely, he said, that the company’s 10-story headquarters building in Orange will continue displaying its lighted “TRW” sign for weeks or even months after the buyout deal closes.
