Thomas H. Lee, the Boston-based investor who made a killing by selling HomeSide Lending, is eyeing Fidelity National Financial, Jacksonville, Fla., the nation's largest title insurance firm.According to a report in the The New York Times, Mr. Lee's Thomas H. Lee Partners and another firm, Texas Pacific Group, are contemplating buying a stake in Fidelity or purchasing the company outright. At MortgageWire's deadline, THLP and TPG could not be reached for comment. A Fidelity spokesman declined to comment. One investment banker familiar with Mr. Lee said, "For him to buy a stake must mean he thinks the company is undervalued." Late last year, THLP made a large investment in ResMAE, Brea, Calif., an upstart nonconforming lender founded by three former Long Beach Mortgage executives. (The size of the investment has never been disclosed.) As of Wednesday, Fidelity National (stock symbol: FNF) had a market capitalization of $7.5 billion.
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In a recent interview, Bill Pulte claimed he's signed 80 orders for the agency, although only a dozen have been made public via his social media feed.
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The company reported a profitable first quarter and called for loosened regulation to bring more private capital into home finance in its latest earnings call.
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ICE Mortgage Technology also added 20 new Encompass clients in the first quarter, but the unit still had an operating loss for the period, its 10th in a row.
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Pricing on the 30-year fixed rate mortgage retreated this week as investors digested some economic news, including a GDP contraction in the first quarter.
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A government-sponsored enterprise executive shared his take on the financial implications of Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte's initiatives.
May 1 -
Only 20% of the Top Producers in the National Mortgage News survey were under 40, while almost half were between 41 and 50, and 30% even older.
May 1