Stearns
Holdings, LLC, parent company of Stearns Lending, LLC, a leading
national mortgage lender with wholesale, retail, correspondent, and
strategic alliance business channels, announced today that funds managed
by the private equity group of Blackstone (NYSE: BX), a leading global
asset manager, will acquire a majority stake in the company. This
partnership with Blackstone will provide Stearns with the necessary
resources to accelerate its growth and fuel its efforts to capture even
greater market share. Founder Glenn Stearns will retain a significant
ownership stake.
“I am extremely excited to partner with Blackstone,” explained Glenn
Stearns, Chairman and Founder of Stearns. “Aligning with a strong
financial partner will provide us with the resources to continue
executing our strategic plan as we aim to increase profitable market
share growth. I am very proud of what our employees have accomplished
over the past 26 years and I look forward to the future with Blackstone
as a partner.”
“We chose Stearns to be our partner because it is a leader in the
mortgage market with a world-class management team and a strong
platform,” said Chinh Chu, a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone. “We
look forward to partnering with Founder Glenn Stearns, CEO Brian Hale
and the entire team at Stearns to accelerate the next phase of the
company’s growth.”
“My leadership team and I look forward to the future with support from
Chinh and the other members of the Blackstone team as we continue to
build the preeminent residential mortgage lender in the U.S.,” continued
Brian Hale, Chief Executive Officer of Stearns.
Founded in 1989 by Glenn Stearns, Stearns is currently ranked the #1
Wholesale Lender nationwide* and the #1 Privately Owned Purchase Money
Mortgage Lender in the US for Q1 2015**.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to
Stearns Holdings, LLC. BofA Merrill Lynch is serving as exclusive
financial advisor to Blackstone.
The transaction is expected to close by year-end 2015.
About Stearns Lending, LLC
Stearns Lending, LLC is a leading provider of mortgage lending services
in Wholesale, Retail, Correspondent and Strategic Alliances sectors
throughout the United States where licenses are held. Currently ranked
as #1 Wholesale Lender nationwide*, Stearns Lending continues to expand
as a company overall, making the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing
Private Companies in America in 2013 and 2014**, based on revenue growth
of 273% over a three-year period. In 2015, Inside Mortgage Finance also
recognized Stearns as #9 in the Top 10 Direct Lenders in Q1*.
Stearns Lending is an equal housing lender and is licensed to conduct
business in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Additionally,
Stearns Lending is an approved HUD (United States Department of Housing
and Urban Development) lender; a Single Family Issuer for Ginnie Mae
(Government National Mortgage Association); an approved Seller/Servicer
for Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association); and an approved
Seller/Servicer for Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation). Stearns Lending is also approved as a VA (United States
Department of Veterans Affairs) lender, a USDA (United States Department
of Agriculture) lender, and is an approved lending institution with FHA
(Federal Housing Administration). Stearns Lending, LLC is located at 4
Hutton Centre Drive, 10th Floor, Santa Ana, CA 92707. Company NMLS# 1854.
For more information, visit www.stearns.com.
References
*http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/
-
Top Broker Channels. Rep. no. 3M2015. Inside Mortgage Finance, May.
2015. Web. 1 Jun. 2015.
-
Top Direct-Funded Originators. Rep. no. 3M2015. Inside Mortgage
Finance, May. 2015. Web. 1 Jun. 2015.
-
Top Purchase-Mortgage Producers. Rep. no 3M2015. Inside Mortgage
Finance, Jun. 2015. Web. 5 Jun. 2015
**http://www.inc.com/profile/stearns-lending
-
"The 2013 Inc. 5000." The 2013 Inc. 5000. Inc.com, Aug. 2013. Web. 18
Mar. 2015.
-
"The 2014 Inc. 5000." The 2014 Inc. 5000. Inc.com, Aug. 2014. Web. 18
Mar. 2015.
About Blackstone
Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to
create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors,
the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do
this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help
companies solve problems. Our asset management businesses, with over
$330 billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles
focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity,
non-investment grade credit, real assets, and secondary funds, all on a
global basis. Blackstone also provides various financial advisory
services, including financial and strategic advisory, restructuring and
reorganization advisory, and fund placement services. Further
information is available at www.blackstone.com.
Follow us on Twitter @Blackstone.
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