Equifax To Build New Corporate Headquarters Building, Relocate 550 Employees To Midtown

ATLANTA, October 23, 1997-- Equifax Inc. announced today it will build a new global headquarters building near its current site at 1600 Peachtree Street and move 550 additional employees from its Information Service Center in Cobb County to Midtown.

Equifax is a world leader in providing financial information and processing solutions, with global operations in consumer and commercial credit information services, payment services, software, modeling, analytics and consulting and direct-to-consumer services.

CEO Daniel W. McGlaughlin said the new headquarters will be constructed at the corner of Peachtree and Spring streets next to Rhodes Hall.

"We are happy in Midtown, and it was easy for us to remain committed to this vital, growing Atlanta neighborhood," said President Thomas F. Chapman. "The designs we are considering will be a plus for the area. Our building will fit in well with the historical neighborhood of Ansley Park and with Rhodes Hall."

While the site is zoned C4 (for an office tower up to 650,000 square feet), Equifax's building will be no more than eight stories high and 150,000 square feet.

"Upon completion, you will see a building and landscaping as inviting on the outside as the technological advances and pleasing, open environment are on the inside," Mr. McGlaughlin said.

Susan Mendheim, president and CEO of Midtown Alliance, said: "All aspects of the Equifax project are exactly in sync with Blueprint Midtown and the community's vision of what Midtown ought to become. It is a fabulous synergy, blending old and new buildings to enhance the gateway to Midtown."

Street-level parking for the new building will be at a minimum, with a full parking garage developed underneath the structure. And between the building and the street, there will be a heavily landscaped buffer of trees.

The Equifax Information Service Center, currently located in Cobb County, will be relocated to an existing 90,000 square foot structure at Equifax's current site. The Service Center, which communicates directly with consumers regarding their credit information and profiles, will serve 5.5 million customers this year, a figure which has doubled since 1993.

Unaffected by the new headquarters building and relocation are other Equifax locations throughout the metro Atlanta area including the company's information technology center in north Fulton County and its risk management unit, located near the interchange of I-85 and I-285 in DeKalb County.

The company is reviewing architectural proposals for the headquarters building and has yet to choose a construction contractor. Construction is slated to begin by the end of this year and should take about 18 months, with the company moving in the new headquarters building in the spring of 1999 -- Equifax's 100th anniversary.

Equifax serves many industries on a global basis, including banking, finance, retail, credit card, telecommunications and utilities, andhealth care. Equifax was founded in 1899 in Atlanta and today has more than 10,000 employees around the world. It operates globally in 17 countries, with sales in 40 countries. Equifax revenues for the 12 months ended June 30, 1997, were just under 1.3 billion. The current Equifax headquarters building opened in 1956.