NOVATO -- FICO (NYSE: FICO), a Silicon Valley predictive analytics company known for its credit-score modeling, reached a deal to merge with a Novato-based developer of business data modeling started by former employees of what was called Fair Issac Company when it was based in Marin County.
Terms of the deal, including plans for InfoCentricity's offices and staff, weren't disclosed in the announcement Thursday.
Best-known for its eponymous score used by credit-reporting companies since 1989, FICO plans to add InfoCentricity's software to its FICO Analytic Cloud platform following the expected completion of the transaction in April.
InfoCentricity offers software-as-a-service platforms to support strategic decisions in finance, marketing and other areas. Products include its flagship Xeno and Strategy Trees programs.
"Together with FICO's other leading analytics tools and solutions, InfoCentricity's technology brings deep insight, visibility and control to the model building process, allowing collaborative teams to craft the very best predictive models and decision strategies," said Jeff Dandridge, chief executive officer of InfoCentricity, in a statement. "Adding these tools to the FICO Analytic Cloud will mean greater predictive acumen for organizations of all sizes."
A private company, InfoCentricity completed two rounds of angel investment for an undisclosed sum since its launch in 2000. A number of former FICO employees are founders and executives.
FICO itself has Marin roots. Started in 1954 as Fair, Isaac and Company, it moved from San Francisco's Financial District San Rafael in 1961 and grew to occupy several office buildings until 2004. Called Fair Isaac Corp. as of 2003, the company started shifting administrative functions to Minnesota in 2004. The name changed to FICO in 2009, and the headquarters moved to San Jose last year.
"Growing demand for analytics that generate real and reliable value from data is creating enormous pressures on organizations of all sizes and in all industries," said Will Lansing, CEO of FICO, in a statement. "With this acquisition, we are able to put the most sophisticated, cloud-based analytics modeling tools into the hands of the entire spectrum of users, from first-time modelers and seasoned business analysts, up through advanced data scientists and the most demanding analytics professionals."
FICO currently employs 90 people in San Jose, and has regional hubs in San Diego, San Rafael, London and Birmingham, England, Singapore, Beijing, Sao Paolo, Brazil and Roseville, Minn.
The company had $743 million in revenue in its 2013 fiscal year, with $90 million in net income. The price of FICO shares slipped 1.97 percent to $52.66 at the end of trading Thursday.
