Houlihan Lokey Advises Residential Mortgage Services Holdings

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Residential Mortgage Services Holdings (RMS) has been acquired by Guild Holdings Company (NYSE:GHLD) (Guild). The transaction was signed on May 11, 2021, and closed on July 1, 2021.

RMS is a leading, fast-growing retail mortgage originator focused on the Northeast. The company was founded in 1991 and currently has 70 offices across 14 New England and mid-Atlantic states. RMS originated $8.5 billion in loans during 2020, achieving over 26% CAGR since 2010. Over the last 11 years, RMS averaged 70% purchase originations, which is 23% higher than the market average.

GHLD is a growth-oriented mortgage company headquartered in San Diego, California. Guild leverages a relationship-based loan sourcing strategy to execute on its mission of delivering the promise of homeownership in neighborhoods and communities across the U.S. Guild was established in 1960 and is one of the longest operating seller-servicers in the U.S.

After the transaction, the RMS management team will continue to operate and manage the business.

RMS and GHLD have significant synergies, including allowing GHLD to access RMS’ existing footprint in the Northeast; this provides Guild a strong baseline from which to grow its brand. Furthermore, the RMS acquisition was a highly accretive way for GHLD to utilize the excess cash generated by the historic levels of growth in 2020.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to RMS and assisted in initiating, marketing, structuring, and negotiating the transaction on its behalf. This deal further highlights Houlihan Lokey’s expanding capability as the leading advisor to mortgage companies and builds on significant recent momentum in the broader mortgage and mortgage services sectors.