One of the country’s largest retail mortgage lenders is expanding even further with Guaranteed Rate’s acquisition of Stearns Holdings.
Chicago-based Guaranteed Rate, which just recorded its best production year ever and funded more than $73 billion in mortgages in 2020, announced the transaction on Tuesday. The addition of Dallas metroplex-based Stearns — which itself notched over $20 billion in origination volume in 2020 — boosts Guaranteed Rate’s already impressive retail loan operation and further scales its joint venture platform while developing new “multichannel capabilities,” Guaranteed Rate said via statement.
Notably, the acquisition of Stearns’ wholesale operation, once the nation’s largest, allows Guaranteed Rate to enter the wholesale mortgage channel.
“We’re excited about bringing Stearns Holdings into the Guaranteed Rate family,” said Victor Ciardelli, president and CEO at Guaranteed Rate. “Pairing the incredible talent throughout Stearns’ organization with that of our existing team exemplifies the best of the best in the mortgage business, yielding an even more powerful platform.”
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Guaranteed Rate is acquiring Stearns from funds managed by The Blackstone Group, which acquired a majority share in Stearns in 2015 and took full control after Stearns exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy four years later. Guaranteed Rate plans to integrate Stearns’ retail operation into its own, while Stearns’ wholesale business and partnership ventures will remain standalone operations with current Stearns CEO David Schneider at the helm.
“We’re thrilled about this transaction,” said Schneider. “Guaranteed Rate is a formidable player in the mortgage industry, and this combination will empower our employees and partners to reach more customers, generate more business and guide more people through the homeownership journey.”
“We are fully behind Victor Ciardelli and the entire Guaranteed Rate team,” said Nadim El Gabbani, senior managing director at Blackstone. “This combination creates a powerful player in the mortgage industry, and one that we believe is exceptionally well positioned for success over the long term.”
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
