FirstAm Delaying Business Split

The First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., is delaying the split of its financial services and information solutions businesses. The company had announced plans to spin off the financial services business into a new company that would have taken the First American name back in January. Parker S. Kennedy, chairman and chief executive of First American, said the company remains committed to doing the split. "We still firmly believe that splitting our businesses will unlock the unrealized value of the information solutions businesses and strengthen the competitive position of both companies," he said. "However, given the uncertainty in the real estate and mortgage credit markets, we believe it is prudent to delay the split. Our primary focus at this time is expense management, product development, and maximizing profitability." The announcement came in First American's second-quarter earnings release. The company reported net income of $42.0 million ($0.45 per share), compared with a net loss of $66.0 million ($0.68 per share) for the same period last year. However, current results could be revised downward by a possible impairment of $37.3 million related to an investment in a title agent by First American Title Insurance Co.