Opteum to Sell Retail Origination Platform

Opteum Inc., Vero Beach, Fla., has announced an agreement between its subsidiary Opteum Financial Services and Prospect Mortgage Co. to sell substantially all the assets of OFS's retail mortgage origination business for approximately $5 million plus the assumption of certain liabilities.The company said the sale will also involve certain other assets associated with OFS's corporate staff functions. "Given the reduced demand for mortgage products and services and the deterioration in the secondary market for closed mortgage loans, this transaction will enable us to refocus our energies on managing and growing our RMBS portfolio, while stemming OFS's losses associated with mortgage originations," said Jeffrey J. Zimmer, chairman, president, and chief executive of Opteum Inc. "Upon completion of this transaction and the wind-down of OFS's conduit and wholesale mortgage origination divisions, we will be out of the mortgage origination business entirely." The company recently announced that it would exit the conduit and wholesale origination businesses. The parent company, structured as a real estate investment trust, can be found on the Web at http://www.opteum.com.