Guild in M&A talks with Bayview Asset Management

In a statement, Guild said the initiative came from Bayview, and preliminary discussions on a “broader commercial relationship and potential corporate transaction” are in progress. The discussions include a significant minority investment, a merger resulting in the acquisition of all common stock, an asset purchase or other business combinations.

Bayview, which owns 7.3% of Guild’s total Class A common stock, holds less than 1% of the total voting power of Guild’s outstanding common stock. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the asset manager said that its investment vehicles, including Bayview MSR Opportunity Master Fund, acquired Guild shares at a cost of approximately $23,119,017.

Bayview, which manages roughly $21 billion in assets, said it informed Guild on May 20 of its interest in a transaction but reserves the right to terminate discussions at any time for any reason. Any transaction would be subject to due diligence and board approval, as is standard procedure in cases like this.

Bayview intends to review its investment on an ongoing basis, including the possibility of an “extraordinary corporate transaction,” according to the SEC filing. “Such discussions and actions may be preliminary and exploratory in nature and may not rise to the level of a plan or proposal,” the asset manager said.

Guild said that it “will not comment on speculation regarding any potential transaction or its terms.”

M&A deals have emerged recently, with the most prominent being Rocket Companies’  $9.4 billion agreement to acquire Mr. Cooper Group, the largest servicer and subservicer in the country. Prior to that, Mr. Cooper acquired  Home Point Capital, Roosevelt Management Company  and Flagstar’s servicing assets.