Title Giant Fidelity May Relocate

Title insurance giant Fidelity National Financial, Irvine, Calif., is contemplating leaving the "golden state" for Florida.The company, a fast-growing bundled-services provider, said it is negotiating with city officials in Jacksonville about relocating its corporate headquarters there. "If the negotiations are successful, the company expects the relocation to take place in phases over the next 12 months," it said in a statement. FNF inherited a 500,000-square-foot office complex in downtown Jacksonville when it closed on its recent acquisition of Alltel Information Services (since renamed Fidelity Information Services.) Over the past few years, Jacksonville has become a call-center mecca for financial service firms. A year ago Option One Mortgage Corp., also of Irvine, announced plans to open a large servicing operation in Jacksonville. Firms are attracted to Florida's low labor costs and relatively cheap housing.