Centex Home Equity Being Sold to Fortress

A unit of Fortress Investment Group has agreed to purchase Centex Home Equity Co., Dallas, in a deal valued at about $575 million.Late in the day on March 30, Centex Homes, the homebuilder parent of CHEC, disclosed it had signed a definitive agreement to sell the nation's 28th largest subprime lender to Fortress, which bills itself as a "global alternative investment and asset management firm." Fortress was one of the investment companies that purchased Green Tree from Conseco when the latter was in bankruptcy. The sale is subject to certain conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close within three to four months. Among subprime servicers, CHEC ranks 22nd, according to National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.