Radian Group is continuing with its stated strategy to diversify its business offerings and boosting its real estate software and data analytics capabilities, as the company announced Wednesday that it acquired Five Bridges Advisors.
Five Bridges is a developer of proprietary software, data analytics and predictive models that use artificial intelligence, machine learning and other methods.
The company also provides mortgage, consumer, and real estate analytics, along with valuation and risk management tools for the entire loan lifecycle, from underwriting and origination to servicing, secondary market purchase, and securitization.
And now, the company is under Radian’s umbrella.
In a release, Radian said that deal is “consistent with Radian’s growth and diversification strategy, as well as its focus on the core product offerings of its title, mortgage and real estate services.”
That’s the same thing Radian said back in November when the company acquired Independent Settlement Services, a national appraisal and title management services company.
That deal enhanced Radian’s valuations business, while the Five Bridges deal will help grow the company’s technology and analytics offerings.
According to the companies, Five Bridges will continue to operate under its current brand for the time being but will transition to Radian’s new unified brand identity, which will see all of its underlying companies and subsidiaries rebranded to carry the Radian name, later this year.
Five Bridges co-founders Steve Gaenzler and Michael Youngblood will both remain with the business, with Gaenzler running the day-to-day operations and reporting to Eric Ray, Radian’s senior executive vice president of technology and transaction services.
“We are delighted to welcome Five Bridges to the Radian family of companies, expanding our capabilities and providing our customers across the country with new levels of service and innovation across the residential mortgage and real estate spectrum,” Radian CEO Rick Thornberry said. “This acquisition is another example of how Radian is reengineering and revolutionizing existing industry business models to enhance the overall value proposition for our customers.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
