New Residential Investment Corp.’s acquisition of Shellpoint Partners, a mortgage vehicle that is owned in part by Lewis Ranieri’s Ranieri Partners, is now complete.
Ranieri, considered to be the father of mortgage securitization, helped found Shellpoint in 2010, and still serves on the company’s board of directors.
Shellpoint is the parent company of several subsidiaries, including mortgage lender New Penn Financial, Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing, title and settlement services provider Avenue 365, and eStreet, an appraisal management company.
The companies announced this week that the $190 million deal, which was first announced in November 2017, is now complete.
“We are pleased to announce the closing of the Shellpoint acquisition,” Michael Nierenberg, CEO of New Residential, said.
“We believe this transaction creates tremendous optionality for New Residential. Shellpoint has an excellent origination and third-party servicing platform, as well as a suite of ancillary businesses including title insurance, appraisal management, real estate-owned management and other real estate services,” Nierenberg continued.
"In addition, Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing has done a great job expanding its third-party servicing business, which we expect will remain a focus for the company as SMS continues to grow its roster of third-party clients,” Nierenberg added. “We look forward to working closely with the Shellpoint management team and we remain confident that Shellpoint’s businesses will be a strong contributor to New Residential.”
The deal is just the latest in a long line of mortgage acquisitions for New Residential, the massive real estate investment trust that is part of Fortress Investment Group.
At the end of 2016, PHH announced that it planned to sell off its entire mortgage servicing rights portfolio in a massive deal with New Residential. The company also bought nearly all of CitiMortgage’s mortgage servicing rights in a deal announced in 2017.
And now, Shellpoint and all of its subsidiaries are part of the New Residential companies as well.
“We are delighted to announce the closing of this transaction and we look forward to our continued growth as part of the New Residential family,” Bruce Williams, co-CEO of Shellpoint, said.
“Our organizations share an entrepreneurial spirit, desire for growth and focus on cutting-edge technology,” Williams said. “It’s a terrific match and an exciting time to be part of this group of companies.”
Kevin Harrigan, the president and CEO of New Penn Financial, said that the deal with New Residential will allow the lender to grow its business.
“We are thrilled to officially become part of the New Residential family and excited for the opportunities that this presents for our customers,” Harrigan said. “Our continued focus will be on providing an excellent loan origination experience and competitive rates to our clients. With the support of a scaled platform like New Residential, we look forward to offering an even wider array of product options.”
