Mortgage company to operate independently in partnership with Lakeview Loan Servicing
Bayview Asset Management has announced it will acquire all outstanding shares of Guild Holdings that it doesn’t already own for $1.3 billion in cash, taking the California-based mortgage lender private nearly five years after its public debut.
Under the agreement, Guild shareholders will receive $20 per share, a 56% premium over the stock’s closing price on May 23, the day before Bayview revealed its acquisition interest.
Following the news, Guild shares surged 26% to $19.77. According to LSEG data, Bayview currently owns a 7.3% stake in Guild.
“We see the M&A trend continuing as we move further into the year and more and more smaller operators choosing to sell,” said Mikhail Goberman, equity research analyst at Citizens.
Goberman added that the Guild transaction may encourage industry peers to pursue an “acquire and build in order to eventually sell strategy.”
Earlier this year, Rocket Companies agreed to acquire Mr. Cooper Group in a $9.4 billion all-stock transaction, marking another milestone in large-scale mortgage consolidation.
Read next: Rocket's acquisitions leave plenty for everyone else, says MBA's Broeksmit
Guild will become a privately held, independent entity operating in close partnership with Lakeview Loan Servicing, a Bayview affiliate and major US mortgage servicer.
“Expanding the Guild relationship with Lakeview creates one of the strongest and most compelling mortgage origination and servicing ecosystems in the nation,” Guild Mortgage CEO Terry Schmidt said in a Press release. “Our expertise in distributed retail origination, retained servicing, and the customer-for-life balanced business model makes this a complementary partnership that has powerful potential for growth and innovation.”
Guild’s board also plans to issue a special dividend of up to $0.25 per share ahead of the transaction’s completion. If the merger is delayed into 2026, shareholders could receive quarterly dividends of the same amount through closing. These payouts will not impact the $20-per-share sale price.
The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2025, subject to customary conditions and is not contingent on financing. Morgan Stanley served as financial advisor to Guild, while Goldman Sachs advised Bayview.
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