Personal Finance News
Rocket Completes $14.2 Billion Mr. Cooper Acquisition
The U.S.’s largest lender has now acquired the county’s largest mortgage servicer.
About the Rocket-Mr. Cooper Deal:
Rocket Companies recently announced that its acquisition of Mr. Cooper had officially closed. The transaction cost Rocket $14.2 billion. According to the company, the combined entity will now have service nearly 10 million mortgages.
As part of the deal, Mr. Cooper’s CEO Jay Bray will now serve as President and CEO of Rocket Mortgage and join Rocket’s board of directors. Bray will report to Rocket Companies CEO Varun Krishna.
With the transaction complete, Mr. Cooper’s servicing platform will be rebranded to Rocket. Homeowners are currently being informed of this change.
Rocket’s purchase of Mr. Cooper comes on the heels of the company completing another large acquisition. Back in March, a $1.75 billion purchase of the popular real estate brokerage site Redfin was announced. That deal closed in July of this year.
What They’re Saying:
Commenting on the recent acquisitions and how they’ll work within the Rocket ecosystem, Krishna said, “Homeownership is the bedrock of the American Dream. By combining mortgage servicing and loan origination, along with home search through Redfin, we are paving the path for Americans to own the dream.” Krishna went on to say, “Jay Bray and his team have built a technology-driven platform that is the backbone of Mr. Cooper, helping it scale to become the largest servicer in the country. By integrating Mr. Cooper’s servicing strength with Rocket’s origination capabilities and AI technology and established strong national brand, our goal is to lower costs and make the process easier.”
Speaking of Bray, he said of the day, “This transaction brings to a close a multi-year journey during which Mr. Cooper grew to become the nation’s largest servicer and produced enormous value for our clients, partners, stakeholders and investors. Now, by joining forces with Rocket, we start a new journey, which I believe offers an even bigger opportunity… Together, we will deliver the change the housing industry needs.”
My Thoughts:
I first learned about this acquisition via a letter sent to us as Mr. Cooper customers (not that we chose them in the first place — our mortgage was sold soon after we bought our house and our servicer later changed to Mr. Cooper). Upon discovering this, I went to take a closer look at the Rocket Card they announced a couple of years ago. Well, as it turns out, that product is no longer available.
At this time, I don’t have anything to report as far as how the Rocket experience compares to Mr. Cooper. But, stay tuned to my semi-monthly column as I’ll be sure to take a look at any potential changes in the future.