New MI Firm Inks Deal for Triad Assets

Essent Guaranty, a new mortgage insurance company, has agreed to buy the operating platform and technology systems of Triad Guaranty, the nation's smallest MI, which is in the process of self liquidating. Based in Radnor, Pa., Essent will pay $30 million in cash and assume what it calls "certain software contractual obligations" that the publicly traded Triad is on the hook for. Essent said it would establish its operational and software center in Winston-Salem where Triad is headquartered. Essent CEO Mark Casale said the purchase of the assets from Triad "is the next major step in the formation" of the young company's MI business. Essent has yet to write any coverage but has received $500 million in financial backing from a group of investors that includes Goldman Sachs & Co. In after hours trading Wednesday, after the deal was announced, Triad's share price shot up 11% to $1.37.