Lend Lease acquisition $41.6 million
By MortgageDaily.com staff
12/19/2003

Wachovia Bank N.A. announced that its multifamily unit has acquired the U.S.-based commercial mortgage lending division of Lend Lease Corp. Ltd.

Wachovia Multifamily Capital Inc. has acquired Lend Lease Mortgage Capital (LLMC) for approximately $41.6 million, although its book value was $38 million, said Lend Lease. The sale included the transfer of loans in progress, which totaled $139 million at June's end. Additionally, Wachovia said about 51 LLMC employees were included with the transfer.

"The assets and the strong team from Lend Lease, combined with our recent acquisition of AMI Capital, give us scale in multifamily mortgage servicing," said Steve Jones, a Wachovia managing director, in a statement. The company announced its acquisition of AMI in late November.

With AMI and LLMC included the company's commercial volume stands at $4 billion, said a Wachovia spokesman. The North Carolina-based company, which says it is one of the top three real estate lenders in the country, plans to integrate the acquired companies' operations into its commercial real estate finance platform over the next few months.

Acknowledging Wachovia's strong finance platform, Ed Hurley, a principal of the subsidiary purchased from the Australian-based international real estate services and investment company, said in the announcement, "this combination will make us even more meaningful to our clients -- and to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other real estate investors."

Hurley is one of the employees who joined Wachovia.

Article © MortgageDaily.com All Rights Reserved