This year has been busy for mergers and acquisitions in the mortgage industry. Some major and minor players have sold stakes in their business, while other prominent players are selling entirely.
Guaranteed Rate Inc. reported on June 13 that the investment from funds affiliated with Thomas H. Lee Partners LP completed a previously announced acquisition of a minority stake in Guaranteed.
No terms were provided about the transaction. Victor Ciardelli, the founder of Chicago-based Guaranteed Rate, is continuing on in his role as president and chief executive officer.
Shareholders of Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. Friday approved the proposed acquisition of Nationstar by WMIH Corp., a statement said. WMIH’s shareholders have also approved the deal at its annual shareholders meeting Friday.
The deal was originally announced in February. Seattle-based WMIH, previously known as Washington Mutual Inc., is the surviving former parent of Washington Mutual Bank, which failed in 2008 and was acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co.
After the transaction is completed, Wand Merger Corp. will be merged into Nationstar. The closing, which is subject to customary conditions and required regulatory approvals, was previously expected to close sometime in the second half.
Adam Thorpe, the president and chief operating officer at Castle & Cooke Mortgage LLC, has acquired the Salt Lake City-based lender with the help of a private investment firm, according to a notice on the 167-year-old firm’s website.
Skyline Financial Corp. has become a subsidiary of Finance Of America Holdings LLC, according to its website. That puts the Calabasas, California-based company in the The Blackstone Group LP family with Stearns Lending LLC and Gateway Funding Diversified Mortgage Services Inc.
Plano, Texas-based Certainty Home Loans LLC agreed to sell an equity interest to Finance of America-affiliate Stearns Lending LLC, a news release Friday said. Certainty will retain its name after the closing, and its president, Jim Clapp, and its national production manager, Doug Casbon, will stay on. The investment in Certainty, which was founded in March 2000, is expected to complete by Aug. 31 subject to regulatory approval.
LoanStar Home Loans LLC, which does business as LoanStar Home Lending, agreed to be acquired by Commerce Home Mortgage LLC and parent The Capital Corps LLC, a June 26 statement said. LoanStar previously reported $0.75 billion in mortgage originations for 2015. The Capital Corps acquired Commerce Home Mortgage late last year as part of a strategy to serve the more than $100 billion non-traditional prime market.
The consolidation of HarborOne Bank’s home-lending unit with Merrimack Mortgage Company Inc., which it acquired in 2015, has created HarborOne Mortgage, a recent press release indicated.