Paragon Buying Shearson Home Loans

Paragon Financial Corp., Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., has announced an agreement to acquire Shearson Home Loans Inc. from Consumer Direct of America Inc.Under the agreement, Paragon will issue to Consumer Direct the equivalent of four shares of Paragon's common stock for each outstanding Paragon share and share equivalent. Paragon said Shearson, a consolidator of independent mortgages brokerages, employs over 300 people and had a closed-loan volume of $1.1 billion in 2004. "We view Shearson as an ideal partner in our quest to consolidate the mortgage brokerage industry," said Paul Danner, Paragon's chief executive officer. Paragon can be found online at http://www.pgnf.com.