Reverse mortgage pricing and analytics company Baseline Reverse has been acquired by real estate consulting and technology firm SitusAMC, which made the acquisition to build upon its position in the analytics and valuation of mortgage servicing right (MSR) assets. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Baseline’s service offering will join SitusAMC’s Analytics, Pricing, and Brokerage segment, while Baseline’s technologies will join SitusAMC’s TechEssential, LLC subsidiary umbrella, according to a press release announcing the acquisition.
The arrangement is a natural fit for Baseline, and the company’s existing clients should not need to expect any disruption in their service arrangements according to Dan Ribler, president of Baseline Reverse.
“The process went pretty quickly, really,” Ribler told RMD. “They are the perfect parent for us – it just made sense. Clients will continue to work with me directly, and will still get the world famous Baseline Support team for all of our web tools.”
In terms of ways the acquisition will directly benefit the operations at Baseline, Ribler describes a scenario in which the company will have greater access to the resources it needs to do its job effectively.
“We’ll have more expertise, more bandwidth, and more relationships, and more resources,” Ribler said. “This means more innovation for our clients, faster than ever.”
In terms of what the reverse mortgage industry needs to know about this occurrence from Baseline’s perspective, Ribler says that the acquisition by SitusAMC is well in-line with a greater technological emphasis that is continuing to grow more important in the reverse mortgage business space.
“Big things are coming for the reverse space soon. Really big things. Baseline, like SitusAMC invests heavily in technology,” Ribler said. “Those who embrace cutting edge technology will win in the space, while those who do things ‘the way we’ve always done it’ are at risk of getting left behind. We are outrageously excited for our clients, who will be well-positioned to extend their advantages in the industry.”
Baseline provides third party pricing and analytics on approximately $38 billion of underlying mortgage unpaid principal balance (UPB) on a daily, monthly or quarterly basis. This adds to the approximately $6 trillion of underlying mortgages and more than 15 million mortgage loans analyzed and priced at SitusAMC, according to a company statement.
“The purchase of Baseline further highlights our commitment to providing innovative solutions to our clients,” said SitusAMC CEO Michael Franco in the press release. “Baseline, through a combination of leading technologies, services and deep industry expertise, has become the benchmark for reverse mortgage analytics and valuation solutions, and is an excellent addition to our industry leading forward mortgage MSR offering.”
