Ditech Holding Corp. is considering selling itself, just over four months after the lender emerged from bankruptcy protection.
The company hired Houlihan Lokey as its financial advisor and Weil, Gotshal & Manges as its legal counsel to assist in the review, which will also consider other alternatives including a business combination or remaining as a standalone entity, a press release said.
The review was initiated "in response to certain inquiries received by" Ditech's board of directors, the press release added.
Ditech is not discussing or disclosing any developments with respect to this process until it enters into a definitive sale or merger agreement or it has otherwise determined that further disclosure is appropriate or required by law.
No timetable has been established for the completion of the strategic review, the company said.
"Having completed our financial restructuring and as we focus on optimizing our business, our board believes that now is the right time to review the company's strategic alternatives to assess how best to drive value for our stockholders," Tom Marano, Ditech's CEO, president and chairman said in the press release. "We will undertake a comprehensive and thorough review with the assistance of our advisors. During this review, the entire Ditech Holding team will remain focused on advancing our mission of serving our customers throughout the homeownership journey and creating value for our stockholders."
The announcement, made after the stock market closed on June 27, had little impact on Ditech's stock price, although trading volume was higher than normal.
Ditech opened at $5.25 per share on June 28, up 17 cents from the previous day's close. Its high for the day was $6.25 but it closed at $5.39 per share. On June 29, Ditech opened at $5.27 per share.
There were 205,400 shares that changed hands on June 28. The previous day, 4,700 shares were traded.
After
Ditech reported net income of $466.9 million in the first quarter, primarily due to a $464.5 million gain related to fresh-start accounting adjustments made prior to leaving bankruptcy. It funded $2.76 billion in the period, down from $5 billion one year prior.
