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.

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.

While the group's bid remains at $12.76 a share, it has beefed up its equity commitments, eliminated risks associated with debt financing and increased the damages it would pay if it fails to consummate the transaction, people familiar with the matter said. 

Interoperability does remain a potential issue, not just between the lenders and the merged technology companies, but with other vendors who do business with them as well.

The provider of home-equity loan products will partner with Cerberus Residential Opportunities, an affiliate of the capital management firm, with CEO Jerry Schiano at the helm.

A group publicly identified as Bidder J, that reportedly includes big names in finance, is willing to pay $1.61 per share above the $11.15 Rithm Capital agreed to.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. can move forward with its takeover of Black Knight Inc. after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission accepted a binding settlement that will see key mortgage software products sold to rival Constellation Software Inc.

Its Encompass Lending unit will move into Austin as well as add to its Dallas-Fort Worth presence.

The company claims its founder is acting out after he was removed from his positions due to a bribery scandal, in which substantial penalties nearly forced the business to close.