Washtenaw to Sell Majority Stake to GenStone

The Washtenaw Group Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich., has announced a deal to sell a majority, controlling stake in the company to GenStone Financial in return for a $5 million capital infusion.Washtenaw said it has signed a letter of intent to receive an immediate infusion of $1.5 million from GenStone in exchange for 6.0 million newly issued shares of common stock, which would represent 57% of the common shares outstanding. That would be followed by an additional $3.5 million investment in convertible preferred shares by February 2006, the company said. Washtenaw said it will negotiate a management agreement that "will eventually cede management control" to GenStone. Richard Coleman, president and chief executive officer of GenStone, will become CEO of Washtenaw, and Ronald Evans, currently executive vice president of Washtenaw Mortgage, will become president of Washtenaw. "With the influx of our investment, we believe that Washtenaw will become the largest minority-owned mortgage banking company in the United States," Mr. Coleman said. ".... Washtenaw will aggressively pursue the residential rehabilitation and upgrade housing market. Washtenaw will also broaden its marketing efforts toward the emerging domestic market, which is comprised of U.S. ethnic minority groups." Washtenaw can be found online at http://www.thewashtenawgroup.com.