Apollo Global Management, Athene and AmeriHome Mortgage Company entered an agreement to sell AmeriHome to a subsidiary of Western Alliance Bancorporation.
Houlihan Lokey Capital and Wells Fargo Securities are serving as financial advisors and Sidley Austin is serving as legal advisor to AmeriHome. Evercore and Guggenheim Securities serving as financial advisors to Western Alliance, while Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders is serving as legal advisor.
AmeriHome was founded in 2013 by AmeriHome management and funds affiliated with Apollo and subsidiaries of Athene to provide capital to U.S. homeowners and residential mortgage originators.
“We are excited for this strategic step with Western Alliance Bank and the opportunities for growth ahead of us,” Jim Furash, CEO of AmeriHome, said. “Apollo and Athene have been invaluable partners in incubating AmeriHome from a startup in 2013 to one of the country’s leading mortgage originators and servicers. AmeriHome’s success, and today’s transaction, would not have been possible without the investment and strategic partnership of the teams at Apollo and Athene.”
“We are very proud to have supported AmeriHome alongside Apollo over the past eight years and participate in its success,” Jim Belardi, CEO of Athene, said. “We believe our investment in AmeriHome clearly displays the strength and differentiation of our alternative investment strategy, which selectively seeks long-term investments in operating businesses we can help grow while generating strong and consistent returns along the way. Athene’s strategic partnership with Apollo provides a unique sourcing capability to invest in opportunities like AmeriHome, which has been one of the most successful investments in our history. This is a fantastic outcome for all parties involved, and we wish Jim and the AmeriHome team continued success.”
“The strategic partnership with AmeriHome exemplifies Apollo’s unique strategy of building and investing in best-in-class origination platforms,” Neil Mehta, partner at Apollo, said. “In the case of AmeriHome, we combined seed and growth equity capital, asset-backed and corporate financing, purchases of mortgage loans, and financial services expertise. We believe our capital and strategy coupled with outstanding execution by Jim Furash and the management team has resulted in a best-in-class mortgage origination platform and outstanding results for AmeriHome investors and stakeholders.”
“This transaction represents a natural next step for management, all of whom have experience in bank-owned mortgage companies, to continue the “AmeriHome Way” as a subsidiary of Western Alliance. We believe the strategic alignment with Western Alliance will provide AmeriHome with an enhanced ability to deliver on its value proposition to customers,” Mehta said.
The purchase price represents approximately 1.4 times adjusted tangible book value based on Dec. 31, 2020 financials. The transaction is expected to close in Q2/21, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the receipt of customary antitrust, state mortgage and other regulatory approvals.
