Och, who left New York-based Sculptor in 2019, said Tuesday in a statement that he wants a Delaware judge to halt the buyout until a rival group led by Saba Capital Management's Boaz Weinstein is able to present its higher bid to shareholders.

"We are not selling and giving up what we have worked 27 plus years to build," founder Steve Jacobson wrote.

But the deal - even if it does not close - will have little effect on the outlook for the REIT, analysts for Keefe, Bruyette & Wood said.

Three top executives, including CEO Kevin McMahon, left the company in the days following its sale to Constellation Software.

More than a week ago, the consortium of deep-pocketed investors offered a figure higher than an earlier bid of $12.76 a share, but the specific amount was unknown.

The company is in a bidding war for Sculptor Capital, which in turn is supposed to unlock a spin-out for the mortgage business that this transaction helps build.

MSP users who are not Encompass customers are a particular target and vice versa, ICE Mortgage Technology chair Ben Jackson said.

The nation's largest bank, which acquired the remains of San Francisco-based First Republic following its failure this spring, has completed its plans to close 21 offices this year. But the consolidation effort is likely to continue.

Executives were accused in a lawsuit of engineering a proposed $639 million acquisition of the fund by rival Rithm Capital Corp. in a way that is unfairly blocking a higher bid. 

Merchants Bancorp says it will sell a total of four branches to two buyers and focus more on its core residential mortgage lending business. Banks of all sizes have been pruning branch networks in recent years.