Auction company Real Estate Disposition LLC (REDC) has signed a definitive agreement with Pulte Homes Inc. to acquire the Commerce Title retail title insurance agency platform.
The Commerce Title brand, retail branch network and certain additional support assets are included in the sale. Subject to regulatory and licensing approvals, the sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2010.
‘The Commerce Title retail platform, with its seasoned and successful team, is a great launching pad for our expansion into this market and will complement our other businesses nicely,’ comments Jeffrey Frieden, CEO of REDC.
The transaction will allow Pulte to focus on its builder-title operations, says Debra W. Still, who oversees Pulte's financial services operations.
Approximately 130 Commerce Title retail employees will transition with the sale. Headquarters for the Commerce Title retail operation acquired by REDC will be located in Dallas. Pulte will retain that portion of the Commerce Title operations that support its new-home sales, and the headquarters for those operations will also remain in Dallas.
Commerce Title was formerly a subsidiary of Centex Corp., which merged with Pulte in August.
SOURCE: Real Estate Disposition LLC
