ST. PETERSBURG , Fla. and MENLO PARK, Calif., Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- First Advantage Corporation (Nasdaq: FADV), a global risk mitigation and business solutions provider, and Highland Capital Partners, a leading venture capital firm, today announced that Highland Capital Partners has purchased the consumer business of First Advantage's US SEARCH.com business. Based in Los Angeles , US SEARCH.com provides Web based access to premium people search services.
This purchase adds to Highland Capital Partners' portfolio of leading digital media enterprises, while enabling First Advantage to focus on its core business offerings. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
"US SEARCH.com was integral to the formation of First Advantage in 2003 as we sought to take our operations public," said First Advantage President and Chief Executive Officer Anand Nallathambi. "With the growth of First Advantage and the resulting evolution of our long-term strategy, consumer-driven people locator services no longer fit our core business strategy. This move will help us to focus more on our core businesses. We are excited about transitioning this business to Highland Capital Partners, which is committed to building on the capabilities and successes of US SEARCH."
US SEARCH.com attracted 7.5 million monthly unique visitors to its Web site in July, according to Comscore Media Metrix. The company aggregates public records information to help people reconnect and produces individual background reports, which include criminal records and marriage/divorce information.
"Highland and US SEARCH.com's management team will work to strengthen the company's leadership position in the people search market," said Richard de Silva, partner at Highland Capital Partners. "This venture buyout will create an independent, highly focused company, which can better serve the growing needs for premium people search services as more people make their initial connections online."
About Highland Capital Partners
Highland Capital Partners was founded with the mission of helping great
people build great companies. Since its inception in 1988, the firm has taken
a sector-focused approach to investing in exceptional communications,
consumer, digital media, healthcare and information technology companies. With
over
About First Advantage Corporation
First Advantage Corporation (Nasdaq: FADV) combines industry expertise with information to create products and services that organizations worldwide use to make smarter business decisions. First Advantage is a leading provider of consumer credit information in the mortgage, automotive and specialty finance markets; business credit information in the transportation industry; lead generation services; motor vehicle record reports; supply chain security consulting; employment background verifications; occupational health services; applicant tracking systems; recruiting solutions; skills and behavioral assessments; business tax consulting services; insurance fraud, corporate and litigation investigations; surveillance; computer forensics; electronic discovery; data recovery; due diligence reporting; resident screening; property management software and renters insurance. First Advantage ranks among the top companies in all of its major business lines. First Advantage is headquartered in St. Petersburg , Fla., and has more than 4,700 employees in offices throughout the United States and abroad. More information about First Advantage can be found at http://www.FADV.com.
First Advantage is a majority-owned subsidiary of The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF), a FORTUNE 500(R) company that traces its history to 1889. First American is America's largest provider of business information, supplying businesses and consumers with valuable information products to support the major economic events of people's lives. Additional information about the First American Family of Companies can be found at http://www.firstam.com.
Contacts Highland Capital Partners: Michael Gaiss Senior Vice President 781.861.5517 [email protected] First Advantage Corporation: Henri Van Parys Cindy Williams Corporate Communications Manager Investor Relations Manager 727.214.1072 727.214.3438 [email protected] [email protected]SOURCE First Advantage Corporation
