NEW YORK - Data and analytics provider Dun & Bradstreet, which has a market value of nearly $8 billion including debt, is exploring options including a potential sale, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Jacksonville, Florida-based Dun & Bradstreet has been working with investment bankers at Bank of America to evaluate takeover interest from potential buyers, which include private equity firms, the sources said.

The sources, who requested anonymity because the matter is confidential, cautioned that no deal is certain.

Bank of America declined to comment. Dun & Bradstreet did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company listed its shares in New York in 2020, less than two years after an investor consortium led by CC Capital, Cannae and Thomas H. Lee Partners took it private. Dun & Bradstreet's shares have lost nearly 62% of their value since the company's initial public offering.

Dun & Bradstreet, which traces its origins to 1841, is one of Wall Street's oldest data and analytics providers. It currently serves about 135,000 businesses, including 90% of the Fortune 500 companies, according to its website.

  - Reuters