The acquisition of Bellwether Real Estate Capital LLC, Cleveland, by Enterprise Community Investment Inc., Columbia, Md., will allow the latter company to expand its activities to be a full service lender for community development activities, the executive who will head up the combination told National Mortgage News.
The new company, Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital LLC, is expected to have over $1.5 billion in combined mortgage production volume in 2012.
Lamar Seats, currently senior vice president of Enterprise's multifamily mortgage finance business, will now serve as CEO of Bellwether Enterprise, and Ned Huffman of Bellwether will serve as president. Debbie Rogan of Bellwether will be executive vice president.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Seats said the transaction brings together "two very diverse lending platforms." Enterprise concentrates on providing funding for multifamily affordable housing developments. Bellwether has "a market rate multifamily focus through Freddie Mac and also a very large commercial platform through over 25 life company correspondent relationships."
Thus it gives clientele of both companies an access to a wider array of products and services, he said. The deal also expands the footprint served by both companies.
"We look to grow the affordable housing piece through the Bellwether origination network," while looking to bring Bellwether's commercial focus to the clients already served by Enterprise, he said.
There are more than just housing needs for a community, such as office buildings and retail space, and that is what is now being brought to the table by this deal, the opportunity to invest on the commercial side, Seats continued.
Within two years, plans are to double Bellwether Enterprise's capabilities to $3 billion per year.
Bellwether currently services $4.2 billion of loans; with the merger it will grow to over $5 billion, with Enterprise's multifamily servicing accounts being transferred to the Bellwether Enterprise operation which will be headquartered in Cleveland.
