Two years after acquiring RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing, Freedom Mortgage Corp. has inked a deal to sell the nonbank mortgage servicer to Matrix Financial Services Corp., another leading mortgage servicer and a wholly owned subsidiary of real estate investment trust Two Harbors Investment Corp.
The acquisition is an all-stock deal, with Matrix agreeing to pay a preliminary price equal to the tangible net book value of RoundPoint, plus a $10.5 million premium. Matrix also has agreed to begin using RoundPoint as a servicer prior to the deal’s closing date “and expects to begin transferring loans to RoundPoint in the fourth quarter of this year,” the Two Harbors announcement of the acquisition states.
“Upon closing, all servicing licenses and capabilities will remain with RoundPoint, and RoundPoint will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Matrix,” the deal announcement states.
The acquisition is slated to close in 2023, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Once finalized, the acquisition of RoundPoint is expected to provide Two Harbors with annual annual pre-tax earnings of about $20 million, according to Two Harbors. It also will provide greater control over the Two Harbors’ existing mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portfolio via self-servicing as well as long-term opportunities to expand RoundPoint’s existing operations and ability to pursue additional business.
“Our acquisition of RoundPoint [founded in 2007] marks an evolution in our MSR strategy, which will deliver long-term financial and strategic benefits to Two Harbors,” Bill Greenberg, Two Harbors’ president, CEO and chief investment officer said. “The operational efficiencies and revenue opportunities it presents will add value for shareholders while deepening our involvement in the industry.”
Freedom Mortgage purchased RoundPoint in 2020, which at the time serviced and subserviced some $75 billion in mortgages based on unpaid principal balance (UPB) — most of those agency loans. The acquisition increased Freedom’s combined owned and subserviced MSR portfolio to $310 billion, Freedom Mortgage announced at the time.
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As of the end of June, according to mortgage-analytics firm Recursion, Freedom Mortgage ranked as the sixth largest servicer of all-agency loans, with a 4.6% market share and a $380.2 billion MSR portfolio based on the UPB of loans serviced. Matrix Financial Services Corp., ranked 10th, with a 2.7% market share and a $221.1 billion MSR portfolio based on the UPB of agency loans serviced as of the end of the second quarter.
The entire all-agency MSR market, based on the total UPB of loans serviced, is worth some $8.2 trillion.
The deal with Matrix resulted in Roundpoint closing some sales operations and laying off employees. The company is closing an office in Long Island, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice filed with the New York State Department of Labor.
According to the notice, the business will be permanently closing, affecting 71 employees, with the separations beginning on October 27, or the 14 days commencing on that date. Zenobia Littlejohn, vice president of human resources, said in the notice the reason for dislocation is “economic.”
Flavia Furlan Nunes contributed reporting to this story.
