Who is buying Situs Holdings?

Ranieri Partners is close to announcing the sale of Situs Holdings, sources told peHUB.

The buyer is a very large private equity firm that is well known in the mortgage services space, one of the sources said. Potential buyers could include Flexpoint Ford, Oaktree Capital Group (their distressed debt fund), Stone Point Capital, Blackstone and KKR, sources said. Crestview Partners, Oak Hill Capital Partners and Lightyear Capital are not in the running, one source said.

Ranieri is expected to announce the winner early next month, sources said.

In October, peHUB reported that Ranieri was seeking bids in the mid-$200 million range for Situs. Raymond James is advising on the auction. Situs has underwritten more than $125.3 billion in U.S and European commercial real estate (CRE) deals since 2012, according to the company’s website.

Ranieri Partners was founded by Lewis Ranieri, who has been called the godfather of mortgage-backed securities. He was formerly vice chairman and ran the mortgage trading desk for Salomon Brothers. Ranieri’s rise and fall at Salomon was the subject of Liar’s Poker, the bestseller from Michael Lewis.

Executives for Situs and Oaktree declined comment. Ranieri, Flexpoint, Stone Point, Blackstone and KKR couldn’t be reached for comment.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock