Opteum Sells Stake in Sub to Citi Unit

Opteum Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Vero Beach, Fla., has announced the sale of a 7.5% nonvoting membership interest in its wholly owned subsidiary, Opteum Financial Services LLC, to Citigroup Global Markets Realty Corp. for $4,125,000.The REIT said it also granted the Citigroup unit an option, exercisable at any time before Dec. 21, 2007, to buy an additional 7.49% nonvoting membership interest in OFS for $4,119,500. Opteum said it expects "substantial" cost savings at OFS as a result of amendments to its funding facilities with Citigroup. "With lower funding costs and even greater access to capital, we are well positioned to profitably increase our market share as we leverage our multichannel mortgage origination platform," said Jeffrey J. Zimmer, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Opteum Inc. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.opteum.com.