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Rocket Companies has agreed to buy Mr Cooper for $9.4bn, in a deal that will create a US mortgage giant at an uncertain time for the US real estate market.
The all-stock transaction will put fintech company Rocket in control of a loan book worth $2.1tn across 10mn clients, representing one in every six US mortgages. Rocket is among America’s biggest mortgage lenders, while Mr Cooper is a behemoth in servicing loans.
The deal is the second acquisition by Rocket in the past month following its $1.75bn takeover of real estate listing website Redfin, as the company exploits the slowdown in the US real estate market — prompted in part by persistently high mortgage rates — to build scale.
“Servicing is a critical pillar of home ownership — alongside home search and mortgage origination,” said Varun Krishna, Rocket’s chief executive. “With the right data and AI infrastructure we will deliver the right products at the right time . . . We look forward to welcoming Mr Cooper’s nearly 7 million clients.”
Under the terms of the deal, Mr Cooper investors will receive 11 Rocket shares for each share of Mr Cooper common stock.
Rocket shares were down 4.5 per cent in pre-market trading on Monday. Mr Cooper Group jumped 24.6 per cent.
