Cendant and Countrywide End Talks

Cendant Corp., New York, late Tuesday confirmed that it has ended talks with a potential buyer of its mortgage company.Mortgage officials told MortgageWire that the buyer was Countrywide Home Loans, Calabasas, Calif. In a statement Cendant Corp. said it has "terminated discussions with the party referred to" in a late July press release. Both Cendant and Countrywide never commented publicly that Countrywide was the potential buyer. The parent company said it, "will continue the process of receiving proposals and holding preliminary discussions with other parties regarding the sale of such business and, as previously stated, is also considering other strategic alternatives for the business." Cendant Mortgage is the 10th largest residential servicer and 11th largest lender in the U.S., according to the Quarterly Data Report.