Ocwen Financial sent out a memo to employees early this afternoon informing them that the firm won the bid for Residential Capital Corp. (ResCap), the nation’s fifth largest servicer, according to a source familiar with the situation.
This source was read the memo over the phone, adding that in the message Ocwen promised employees that it will be “committed” to lending and servicing and that it will grow its “on-shore” operations.
The purchase price was said to be in the range of $3 billion – but some of that cash may reflect money for advances.
At deadline a spokesman for Ocwen could not be reached for comment.
Later in the afternoon ResCap issued a statement saying its board “has given its preliminarily approval of the bid by the team of Ocwen and Walter Investment for $3 billion as the highest and best bid for ResCap’s mortgage servicing and origination platform assets.”
A sale approval hearing before the Bankruptcy Court will commence on November 19, 2012.
“We will continue to work with all parties involved to ensure the best possible outcome for its creditors and other stakeholders. The Board would like to thank the management and staff of ResCap for their incredibly hard and dedicated work in reaching this milestone in the Chapter 11 cases of ResCap,” the firm said.
ResCap, which filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year, is also the nation’s 12 largest funder, according to ASR sister publication National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.