Credit where credit's due: TransUnion files for an IPO that could raise $700 million

TransUnion, one of the three major credit bureaus in the US, filed on Tuesday with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering. However, the deal size is likely a placeholder for an IPO that we estimate could raise $700 million or more.

Private equity firm Advent and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) bought the company in February 2012 for $3 billion from Madison Dearborn and the Pritzker family.

The Chicago, IL-based company was founded in 1968 and booked $1.3 billion in sales for the 12 months ended December 31, 2014. Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BofA Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, RBC Capital Markets, Wells Fargo Securities and Credit Suisse are the joint bookrunners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed. It has not selected a ticker or an exchange.