It was just announced that ChoicePoint was acquired for $4.1B by Reed Elsevier, a London-based publisher and information provider.  The good news, is that it appears the company will remain here. This is an aggressive move by Elsevier, best known for LexisNexis.  They effectively just “bought” a new industry for themselves.

Alpharetta, Ga. — Reed Elsevier, a London-based publisher and information provider, has agreed to pay $5 billion in cash to acquire ChoicePoint, an Alpharetta-based provider of technology and information-based risk mitigation products. The deal values ChoicePoint at about $50 per share. Alpharetta will remain the location of ChoicePoint’s headquarters, according to the announcement on Thursday. ChoicePoint was founded in 1997 in a spin-off from Equifax, the credit bureau. The company’s annual revenue grew from about $400 million to approximately $1 billion since then. ChoicePoint provides businesses, government agencies and non-profit organizations with technology, software, information and marketing services to help manage economic and physical risks as well as identify business opportunities.
http://www.ChoiceTrust.com

Hopefully, some of these new soon-to-be millionaires will get back into the early-stage game here in Atlanta and help fuel things … we’ll see.

Cheers.