DNB

Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc. provides business decision data and analytics in North America and internationally. It offers finance and risk solutions, including D&B Finance Analytics, an online application that offers clients real-time access to its information, comprehensive monitoring, and portfolio analysis; D&B Direct, an application programming interface (API) that delivers risk and financial data directly into enterprise applications for real-time credit decision making; D&B Small Business, a suite of powerful tools that allows SMBs to monitor and build their business credit file; D&B Enterprise Risk Assessment Manager, a solution for managing and automating credit decision and reporting; and InfoTorg, an online SaaS application. 

The company also provides risk and compliance solutions, such as D&B Supplier Risk Manager which provides insights to help certify, monitor, analyze, and mitigate risk across the supply chain; D&B Onboard to provide comprehensive insights into businesses to facilitate KYC/AML compliance, as well as to minimize financial, legal, and reputational risk exposure; and D&B Beneficial Ownership that offers risk intelligence on ultimate beneficial ownership. 

It offers sales and marketing solutions, including D&B Connect, a self-service data management platform; D&B Optimizer, an integrated data management solution; D&B Rev.Up ABX, an open and agnostic platform that aligns marketing and sales teams to deliver an optimal and coordinated buying; D&B Hoovers, a sales intelligence solution; D&B Audience Targeting, which helps clients to reach the right audiences with the right messages; D&B Visitor Intelligence that turns web visitors into leads; and D&B Direct, an API-enabled data management solution that delivers valuable customer insights into CRMs, marketing automation, and other marketing applications for on-demand business intelligence. The company was founded in 1841 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

Dun & Bradstreet traces its history to July 20, 1841, with the formation of The Mercantile Agency in New York City by Lewis Tappan, later called R. G. Dun & Company. Recognizing the need for a centralized credit reporting system, Tappan formed the company to create a network of correspondents who would provide reliable, objective credit information to subscribers. As an advocate for civil rights, Tappan used his abolitionist connections to expand and update the company's credit information. Despite accusations of personal privacy invasion, by 1844 the Mercantile Agency had over 280 clients. The agency continued to expand, opening offices in Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. 

By 1849, Tappan retired, allowing Benjamin Douglass to take over the booming business. In 1859, Douglass transferred the company to Robert Graham Dun, who immediately changed the firm's name to R. G. Dun & Company. Over the next 40 years, Graham Dun continued to expand the business across international boundaries.

In March 1933, Dun merged with competitor John M. Bradstreet to form today's Dun & Bradstreet. The merger was engineered by Dun's CEO, Arthur Whiteside. Whiteside's successor, J. Wilson Newman, worked to extend the company's range of products and services, expanding the company dramatically during the 1960s by engineering ways to apply new technologies to evolving operations. Moody's, a credit reporting agency, was acquired by Dun & Bradstreet in 1962. The Dun & Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System was invented in 1963. Other companies acquired during this time included R.H. Donnelley, Official Airline Guides, Thomas Y. Crowell Co., Funk & Wagnalls, Technical Publishing, and McCormack & Dodge, all since divested.

In 1986, Dun & Bradstreet acquired the education data company Market Data Retrieval. In 1996, the company restructured, creating three entities: Dun & Bradstreet, Nielsen, and Cognizant Corporation. Cognizant Corporation included Nielsen TV Ratings, Gartner Group, Clarke-O'Neill, Erisco, and several other lesser-known entities. In 1999, Cognizant Corporation spun off Nielsen TV Ratings and shortly thereafter divested all its holdings, emerging as IMS Health. IMS Health continued to hold its prize incubator company which is today known as Cognizant Corporation. On July 1, 1998, Dun & Bradstreet split into two companies, one assuming the Dun & Bradstreet name, while the other adopting the R.H. Donnelley name.

In 2000, Dun & Bradstreet spun off Moody's Corporation. In 2001, Dun & Bradstreet acquired Harris InfoSource International, Inc., a data company. In February 2003, the company acquired Hoover's, a business reporting service. On February 5, 2003, Dun & Bradstreet restated prior period results to correct timing errors in recognizing some of the revenue associated with 14 of the company's 200+ products, after reviewing its revenue recognition from 1997 through 2002. 

In August 2010, Dun & Bradstreet spun off and sold its credit monitoring and management business to a newly formed company, Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. In 2007, Dun & Bradstreet acquired AllBusiness.com and sold the company in 2012. In October of the next year, Bob Carrigan became the CEO of Dun & Bradstreet. On January 5, 2015, Dun & Bradstreet acquired the data management firm NetProspex. In April of the same year, Dun & Bradstreet acquired Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. and announced the formation of a new division, Dun & Bradstreet Emerging Business. In January 2017, Dun & Bradstreet acquired Avention, the maker of OneSource solutions. 

On August 8, 2018, Dun & Bradstreet announced the appointment of Thomas J. Manning, who had served as the company's interim CEO, as its new Chief Executive Officer, and that the company had entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an investor group led by CC Capital, Cannae Holdings, and Thomas H. Lee Partners. On February 8, 2019, the investor group completed the acquisition of Dun & Bradstreet and it became a privately held company. Its former ticker symbol, DNB, was retired. On July 1, 2020, Dun & Bradstreet re-listed shares on the New York Stock Exchange, once again trading under the ticker symbol DNB. In January 2021 Dun & Bradstreet acquired Bisnode Business Information Group AB, a European data and analytics firm and long-standing member of the Dun & Bradstreet Worldwide Network, for an enterprise value of 7.2 billion kr. On May 20, 2021, Dun & Bradstreet announced its intention to move its global headquarters to Jacksonville, Florida.

“We are here. In order for you to be at the forefront. This is our mission, and the answer to why DNB is for customers, society and employees. The assignment will provide direction for our choices and priorities. It will inspire innovation and drive change. All we do should be in line with our mission.”

“We create value in a sustainable way. We will be transparent about our operations and contribute positively to society.”