KKR, Others Pay $9B for 78% of GMACCH

After a year of negotiations, an investor group that includes Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts and mortgage-backed security inventor Lewis Ranieri has finally closed on its purchase of GMAC Commercial Holding Co., paying almost $9 billion for the unit.The sale was unveiled Thursday morning. The investor group -- KKR, Mr. Ranieri's Five Mile Capital Partners, and Goldman Sachs -- paid $1.5 billion in cash, while agreeing to repay $7.3 billion in intercompany loans to GMAC. Upon closing, GMACCH, the parent of GMAC Commercial, Horsham, Pa., changed its name to Capmark Financial Group. According to figures compiled by the Mortgage Industry Directory, GMAC Commercial is the nation's largest commercial mortgage banker, with $247 billion in receivables at year-end. The financially ailing General Motors will retain 22% of Capmark. GM also is weighing bids for its residential mortgage business. Cerberus Capital Management, New York, which owns Houston-based Aegis Mortgage, is believed to be the leading bidder at this point, but a final sale could be months away. (See the March 27 issue of National Mortgage News for more details.)