H&R Block has closed the sale of the mortgage loan servicing business of its Option One Mortgage Corp. subsidiary effective April 30. As previously announced, the purchaser was American Home Mortgage Servicing, which is an affiliate of WL Ross & Co. According to a release from H&R Block, the proceeds of the deal at closing were roughly $1.3 billion. Option One used the proceeds partly to repay more than $980 million on its servicing advance facility, which represents the outstanding balance of this facility. After repayment of servicing advances, Option One realized net cash proceeds of slightly over $230 million and retained a receivable relating to certain servicing assets of roughly $100 million.
In other servicing news, Origen Financial has entered into an agreement for the sale of its servicing platform assets to Green Tree Servicing. Upon the sales completion, the transaction will include the transfer of about $1.6 billion of manufactured housing loans. Proceeds from the sale would be used to retire a $15 million loan secured by the servicing assets, to partially repay a $46 million secured loan facility entered into in April 2008 and for working capital. As part of the deal, Green Tree will assume the lease for Origen's Fort Worth, Texas servicing facility.
