Exclusive: Providence's Altegrity looks to sell $1 billion unit - sources

Altegrity Inc, owned by private equity firm Providence Equity Partners, is looking to sell a division that provides background checks for private-sector employers and could fetch up to $1 billion, two people familiar with the matter said.

A potential sale of the HireRight division comes at a tough time for Altegrity, as another of the latter's units, USIS, faces a U.S. government investigation over its 2011 background check into Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency leaker.

Unlike USIS, which is the largest private provider of federal government background checks in the United States, HireRight focuses on private-sector employers and provides employee background checks, as well as drug and health screening for companies.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is advising on the auction process, which has attracted private equity interest and is advancing to the second round, the sources said, asking not to be named because the matter is not public.

Representatives for Providence Equity declined to comment. Altegrity did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Bank of America did not have immediate comment.

(Reporting by Soyoung Kim in New York, additional reporting by Greg Roumeliotis; Editing by Bernadette Baum)