Mortgage and Lending, Asset Management
PRnewswire | June 02, 2023
Planet Home Lending, LLC, a national mortgage lender and servicer, announced the asset acquisition of retail lender Platinum Home Mortgage Corporation, Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Planet will acquire the majority of Platinum's origination staff, including more than 20 branch offices in strategic locations throughout the United States.
"We look to acquire right-sized, financially solid distributed retail companies," said Michael Dubeck, CEO and President of Planet Financial Group, parent of Planet Home Lending. "Platinum is a solid cultural fit. Its talented, highly experienced people share our commitment to delivering exceptional lending experiences supported by deep personal care for borrowers."
Planet expects to continue gaining market share through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. The Platinum acquisition brings to Planet a purchase-focused platform and high-producing branches, expanding the company's footprint in Midwest, Northwest, and West Coast markets.
Planet is now #9 on Inside Mortgage Finance's overall lender leaderboard and #4 among government loan producers.
"The move to Planet brings immediate access to improved pricing, technology, and marketing to Platinum's branches," said Platinum CEO and President Lee M. Gross. Gross will join Planet as Senior Vice President and will continue to lead the Platinum team at Planet.
"Planet's efficient platform gives us the pricing advantage of $26 billion in volume," Gross said. "In addition to agency and GSE home loans, Planet also has niche products tailored to today's tight real estate markets, including self-funded One-Time Close (OTC) construction loans as well as manufactured housing and renovation mortgage loans."
Platinum's former President and CEO Bill Giambrone, along with his brother Michael Giambrone, founded the company in 1993. Bill Giambrone's illustrious 30-year career as an independent mortgage banker includes remarkable contributions to the industry, highlighted by his service as a board member and past president of the Community Home Lenders Association.
About Planet Financial Group, LLC
Planet Financial Group, LLC, Meriden, Connecticut, is a fully integrated family of companies delivering innovative origination, servicing and asset management solutions. Through this synergistic ecosystem of products, services and technologies, Planet Financial Group provides best-in-class experiences for investors pursuing value maximization and borrowers seeking streamlined end-to-end loan lifecycle support. Planet Financial Group is the parent of Planet Home Lending, LLC and Planet Management Group, LLC, which also does business under the name Planet Renovation Capital.
About Planet Home Lending, LLC
Planet Home Lending, LLC, Meriden, Connecticut, (NMLS #17022) is an approved originator and servicer for FHA, VA and USDA, as well as a Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae Seller/Servicer, a full Ginnie Mae Issuer and approved sub-servicer and a Standard & Poor's Global Ratings- and Fitch Ratings-rated special and prime residential servicer. Planet Home Lending, LLC has been assigned a corporate family rating by Moody's Investors Service viewable at www.moodys.com. Its correspondent division offers a full suite of government, agency and niche home loans. Planet Home Lending, LLC is also a special servicer managing diverse investor portfolios. Its customized servicing solutions maximize asset recovery and optimize performance through active management at the portfolio and loan levels. Planet Home Lending, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender. For more information about Planet Home Lending, LLC,
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Real Estate Technology,Real Estate Investment
Lessen | January 17, 2023
Lessen, the leading tech-enabled outsourced property services platform, recently announced the strategic acquisition of facilities maintenance technology leader SMS Assist.
By combining the complementary strengths of both organizations, Lessen will continue to address real estate's pain points, offering its clients a scalable, tech-enabled enterprise solution for residential and commercial services. As a result, the companies will serve around 250,000 residential and commercial properties nationwide, enabling approximately 2.5 million repair and maintenance orders annually, in addition to expanding their property services.
The transaction is completed with stock and cash, with Lessen raising roughly $500 million in combined new debt and equity. SMS Assist stockholders exchanged a portion of SMS stock for Lessen stock, resulting in a combined company valuation of over $2 billion. Debt and equity investors, including Värde Partners, Monroe Capital, and Koch Real Estate Investments, assisted with this transaction. Invitation Homes and American Homes 4 Rent are among the clients who invested in the deal with Lessen.
Following the conclusion of the transaction, Lessen's Jay McKee will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of the newly-merged company. He states, "Lessen recognized early on the opportunity to provide an enterprise-level solution that solved the real estate industry's long-tenured property services pain points." He added, "This deal demonstrates the increasing demand within the underpenetrated, $330 billion addressable North American property services market for a unified, extensible delivery platform that provides transparency, efficiency and data-driven insights for the entire real estate ecosystem including investors, owners, managers and service providers.
(Source – Business Wire)
The new, unified technology platform will allow various service providers—from painters, contractors, and plumbers to electricians and more—to work as one on a national scale, which was previously impossible. The quality of this work will be supervised and inspected by Lessen's in-house project managers. This integrated solution will assist owners in overcoming skilled labor shortages while lessening administrative burden, enhancing project efficiency, and providing real-time project updates.
About Lessen
Lessen is the only end-to-end tech-enabled solution for outsourced real estate property services that delivers consistency, quality, and speed at scale, focusing on single-family and multifamily rental renovations, turns, and maintenance. Through automation and real-time analytics, the firm's technology suite is disrupting and modernizing a project management space that is still reliant on traditional organizational and communication models. The company's professional field project managers provide on-the-ground service, utilizing a network of verified service professionals in over 40 markets across the country, all powered by its proprietary technology platform.
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Market Outlook,Real Estate Investment
MLG Capital | January 11, 2023
MLG Capital, a frontrunner in diverse private real estate investments, recently announced that its acquisitions in 2022 topped $1.2 billion, setting another company record.
Notably, the company's first year with $1 billion in asset acquisitions was 2021. It also continued to achieve success over the past year by acquiring 1.8 million square feet of commercial space in over 7,100 multifamily apartment units and 14 states.
MLG announced its sixth diversified fund in May 2022, aiming to raise $400 million in equity. The company's latest product, MLG Legacy Fund, also witnessed significant growth. With only two years since its establishment, the fund has already amassed over $700,000,000 in property holdings.
MLG's achievements also led to national and regional recognition in 2022. For two years in a row, Inc. 5000 named it as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States.
Additionally, GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum has named the company a Multifamily Influencer while Milwaukee Business Journal has named it one of Milwaukee's 'Best Places to Work'. Individual employees also earned distinctions, including Rising Star by Multi-Housing, News Woman of Influence by GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, and so on.
Senior Vice President of MLG Capital, David Binder, said, "MLG has invested in over $5.6 billion of transactions, which is the total of sold assets and the estimated current value of current investments as of Q3 2022. This figure represents approximately 39.5 million square feet of assets, inclusive of more than 33,900 multifamily apartment units across the country, further strengthening our diverse portfolio and positioning us as a leader in the industry." He also said, "Paramount to our growth and successes this past year is the strong support and trust from our valued investor and deal partners across the country. As we look ahead to 2023, we will continue to focus on finding smart real estate deals across the country by working with best-in-class deal partners, with a dedication to transparency, absolute integrity and making a difference while making a living."
(Source: Accesswire)
About MLG Capital
MLG Capital is a private equity investment firm and direct real estate operator. Its primary goal is to increase the value of its clients' holdings. Investors around the United States trust the company because of its solid reputation and track record of positive returns, built up over 35 years of business. The current department portfolio includes more than 33,900 apartment units. Investing with MLG Capital, the investors relish tax efficiency, prioritized returns and geographic, asset type and real estate manager diversifications.
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