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Mortgage company goes coast to coast

Market Street of Clearwater agrees to buy a company that has a presence in eight Western states.

By JEFF HARRINGTON
Published June 7, 2005

At 16 years old, Market Street Mortgage of Clearwater is heeding its urge to head West in a big way.

In the largest acquisition in its history, Market Street said Monday it has agreed to buy Major Mortgage, a Cheyenne, Wyo., mortgage company with 27 offices in eight Western states.

Market Street, the largest originator of home mortgages in the Tampa Bay area, has offices in 36 states. But it has a small presence in the West, with two offices in the Denver area and one in Arizona. Through the acquisition, it expands into six states: Oklahoma, Nevada, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Major Mortgage also has offices in Arizona and Colorado.

"This really opens up the western United States for us. ... Now we're coast-to-coast," said Randall Johnson, Market Street chief executive officer. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Market Street executives said the sale exceeds last year's purchase of Guaranty Residential Lending as the largest deal.

Last year, the 27 Major Mortgage offices originated $690-million in mortgage loans compared to $2.5-billion in loans posted by Market Street, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of NetBank.

Johnson expects the combined operation to originate about $3.5-billion in loans this year "and that's in a diminishing market."

In addition, Market Street will pick up about 200 Major Mortgage employees, including senior managers in Cheyenne, which will become a regional headquarters. Market Street will have about 1,000 employees.

Johnson said his company had been shopping in the western United States for a major acquisition for a long time. More opportunities are opening up, he said, because companies are feeling the effect of a refinancing slowdown. "We really felt like this would be a good year for growth," Johnson added.

The deal is expected to close in early July, pending approval of the Office of Thrift Supervision.

--Jeff Harrington can be reached at harrington@sptimes.com or 813 226-3407.

[Last modified June 7, 2005, 02:15:48]