As mortgage firms shift from organic growth to expansion through strategic acquisitions, some big deals have recently emerged.
A $1.5 million round of financing was raised for the online mortgage firm Lenda, a statement last month said. Among several investors in the mortgage startup are Tom Fallows of Google Shopping Express and Winklevoss Capital.
Guild Mortgage Co. disclosed in October the acquisition of Northwest Mortgage Group, “the largest purchase mortgage lender in the Portland area.”
Northwest Mortgage reportedly employs more than 150 loan originators in eight branches. Residential loan originations were $0.842 billion during 2013.
Guild reported in September that it was acquiring Comstock Mortgage.
“The acquisition is the newest step in Guild’s long range plan to grow through acquisition, adding branches in new and existing markets and preserving its customer service culture with experienced, talented loan officers with established relationships,” San Diego-based Guild said in the statement of the Northwest acquisition.
An agreement was announced in October for Varde Partners Inc. to acquire subprime lender Deephaven Mortgage LLC. Varde will sink $300 million into Charlotte, N.C.-based Deephaven.
In Anchorage, Alaska, Northrim BanCorp Inc. recently announced plans to acquire 76.5 percent of the membership interests in Residential Mortgage Holding Company LLC, the parent of Residential Mortgage LLC, for $29.8 million. Northrim was an original investor at the time of Residential Mortgage’s 1998 founding.
The Residential Mortgage acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
Irving, Texas-based Caliber Home Loans Inc. announced in September an agreement to acquire the assets of Cobalt Mortgage Inc. The merger would create a combined company that would have generated $1 billion in monthly mortgage production last year.
Last week, Caliber Home Loans reported that the acquisition of Kirkland, Wash.-based Cobalt Mortgage has been completed.
“We are pleased to bring the Caliber brand to the Pacific Northwest and look forward to providing more products and offerings to our customers,” Cobalt said in the announcement.
Manhattan Bridge Capital Inc. made a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in July indicating that it planned to generate around $5 million in capital from a public offering. The company is a hard-money lender based in New York.
In conjunction with the public offering, Manhattan Bridge plans to operate as a real estate investment trust beginning on Dec. 31.
Capital One Bank announced the next phase in its 2013 acquisition of Beech Street Capital LLC. This past summer, the acquired entity was renamed Capital One Multifamily Finance.
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