Financing costs have risen and consolidation has reduced the number of active players. Will policy changes shift the market's course?

The victory for Rithm, which began as a firm investing in mortgage-servicing rights, makes it a big player in money management now that it has Sculptor's $32.8 billion of assets.

The agreement includes funds for small-business lending and mortgages for low- and moderate-income borrowers in California and Massachusetts. It puts an end to questions about the fate of an $11.2 billion plan that Silicon Valley Bank inked before it failed in March.

The pact comes as dual court hearings scheduled in New York and Delaware Tuesday threatened to derail the Nov. 16 shareholder vote that would green light the $12.70 per share deal.

The decision removes any possibility that the Chicago-based firm would recapitalize or peddle Republic Mortgage Insurance to an outside entity.

The newly merged ICE Mortgage Technology entered into agreements with two companies this week to facilitate closings and income verification.

Rithm Capital Corp.'s plan to acquire Sculptor Capital Management hit another hurdle Wednesday when four former executives sued the hedge fund firm, alleging the transaction would wipe out more than $127 million of shares they own.

Close to 100 employees including the co-founders of Follow Up Boss will transition to the acquiring company.

The acquisition of the mortgage servicer has costs, but it'll give the company offsetting efficiencies of scale, executives said in an earnings call Tuesday.

The support of Och potentially puts an end to a bidding war that pitted Sculptor against hedge fund founder Boaz Weinstein and a group of billionaires, who most recently said they would pay $13.50 for the embattled hedge fund firm.

The company posted third-quarter profits of $194 million but gave no details about a potential split of its mortgage business.

Saba Capital Management's Boaz Weinstein and his group of billionaire backers again raised their bid for Sculptor Capital Management Inc. 

As part of its breakup fee, the Old Greenwich, Connecticut REIT will come away with an over 6% interest in its New York counterpart.

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.