The Blackstone Group L.P. (BX) and TPG Capital LP have announced a deal to jointly acquire the U.K.-based Acenden Mortgage Servicing Solutions from the administrators of Lehman Brothers. Notably, financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
More specifically, Acenden is being purchased by Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities division and TPG Capital's TPG Special Situations Partners (TSSP). Further, the deal, expected to close in early 2015, is still subject to customary, regulatory and antitrust approvals.
Acenden offers mortgage servicing solutions with main focus on servicing, special servicing, analytics and securitization services. As of Dec 31, 2013, it had loans under management worth nearly £5.4 billion. The firm, with its offices located in central London, High Wycombe and Dublin, employs roughly 400 people.
This is not the first time that Blackstone and TPG Capital have joined hands to expand their presence over the lucrative U.K. mortgage market. Earlier in Sep 2014, Blackstone and TPG Capital LP had agreed to buy U.K.’s sub-prime mortgage lender – Kensington – from its South African parent company, Investec Plc for £180 million ($289.7 million) in cash (Read More: Blackstone, TPG Capital to Buy Kensington for GBP 180M).
Blackstone and TPG Capital expect substantial growth prospects in the U.K. mortgage market. Housing prices have been appreciating in the country, as according to Halifax, prices in the three months ended Nov 2014 came 8.2% higher than the comparable last-year period.
Currently, Blackstone carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked asset managers include Affiliated Managers Group Inc. (AMG), Janus Capital Group, Inc. (JNS) and Northstar Asset Management Group Inc. (NSAM). All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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