National Data Corporation Acquires Equifax's Health EDI Services Company

ATLANTA, September 3, 1996 -- National Data Corporation (NYSE:NDC) and Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) today announced a definitive agreement under which NDC will acquire Equifax's Health EDI Services subsidiary, a leading provider of electronic claims and managed care transaction processing for physicians and health care claim payers.

Equifax Health EDI Services is one of the country's largest claims clearinghouses and health care data interchange providers, processing more than 40 million transactions a year. The company handles insurance claims, eligibility and benefit verification, remittance advice, managed care transactions, check guarantee and credit card transactions among others.

The acquisition adds more than 40,000 health care providers to NDC's unique health care network and significantly strengthens NDC's existing position in the physician and integrated health care delivery network markets. Combined with its existing hospital and pharmacy claims business, the acquisition makes NDC one of the largest sources of health care information, processing almost 1 billion hospital, physician and pharmacy claims annually.

"This is another step in the implementation of our health care strategy," said Robert A. Yellowlees, chairman and CEO, National Data. "Health EDI's products and services fit ideally with our health care capabilities and complements our other offerings. And it reinforces our position as a provider of a diverse range of data for the growing information needs of the health care industry. It also adds to our capability to penetrate a market estimated to be close to $5 billion annually.

"The recently enacted Kennedy-Kassebaum legislation encourages administrative speed and simplification through electronic data interchange (EDI), making this acquisition even more attractive."

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. The transaction is expected to close later this year. Financial terms were not disclosed.

In announcing the deal, Equifax President & CEO Daniel W. McGlaughlin said the transaction was prompted by a reevaluation of Equifax's strategic priorities as well as trends within the health care industry.

"Equifax's corporate strategy is focused on enhancing economic value for our shareholders," McGlaughlin said. "When we announced our entrance into the health care information business, we believed we could strategically diversify into this field with a reasonable capital expense and thus leverage our strengths and enhance shareholder value.

"We have concluded that we can't achieve the scale we need to assume economic leadership in this market in the timeframe we projected," McGlaughlin concluded. "We also are finding many opportunities in the financial and insurance areas that appear particularly promising. Under the circumstances, we think Equifax shareholders and EDI employees and customers will be best served by EDI joining NDC."

Health EDI Services is part of the Equifax Health Information Services Group, which includes Health Administrative Services and Health Analytical Services. The Group also includes the Medical Credentials Verification Service, a database service.

The EDI unit being acquired by NDC was formed after the 1994 acquisitions by Equifax of two companies, Cooperative Healthcare Networks of Alpharetta, Georgia, and Electronic Tabulating Services of Atlanta.

Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX), committed to Global Information Leadership for the Information Age, is the world leader in information solutions, providing services that help grant credit, authorize and process credit card and check transactions and insure lives and property and control health care costs. Established in 1899 in Atlanta, Equifax posted revenues for the 12 months ended June 30, 1996, totaling $1.7 billion.

National Data Corporation is a leading provider of information systems and services for the health care and payment systems markets.