Opteum Financial Services, LLC Completes Sale of Retail Mortgage Origination Business
July 02 2007 - 8:52AM
Business Wire
Opteum Inc. (NYSE:OPX) (�Opteum� or the �Company�), a real estate
investment trust (�REIT�), today announced that its majority-owned
subsidiary, Opteum Financial Services, LLC (�OFS�), has completed
the sale, effective June 30, 2007, of substantially all of the
assets related to OFS�s retail mortgage loan origination business
(the �Business�), and certain other assets associated with OFS�s
corporate staff functions, for $1.5 million plus the assumption of
approximately $4 million in lease obligations and other liabilities
related to the Business and the assets being sold. Commenting on
the transaction, Jeffrey J. Zimmer, Chairman, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Opteum Inc., said, �Although the purchase
price was less than we originally expected, we are pleased to
announce that, with the consummation of this transaction, we have
completely exited the mortgage loan origination business.� Mr.
Zimmer continued, �OFS has been a significant drain on our earnings
and we will now focus our energies on managing and growing our RMBS
portfolio as we restore our profitability. We will also continue to
own OFS�s residual interests in securitizations and mortgage
servicing rights. However, we may seek to sell all or a portion of
these assets depending on market conditions.� In conjunction with
the sale of the Business, Peter R. Norden resigned his position as
Senior Executive Vice President and as a member of the Board of
Directors of Opteum Inc. effective June 29, 2007. Mr. Norden also
resigned his position as President, Chief Executive Officer and
Co-Head of Capital Markets of OFS. Mr. Norden served as a member of
the Board of Directors of Opteum Inc. since the acquisition of OFS
on November 3, 2005. For further information, please refer to the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
These filings are available on the Company's website at
www.opteum.com under the "Investor Information" page and also may
be obtained at www.sec.gov. About Opteum Opteum Inc. is a REIT that
invests primarily in, but not limited to, residential
mortgage-related securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage
Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Government National Mortgage
Association (Ginnie Mae). It attempts to earn returns on the spread
between the yield on its assets and its costs, including the
interest expense on the funds it borrows. Statements herein
relating to matters that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The reader is cautioned that such
forward-looking statements are based on information available at
the time and on management's good faith belief with respect to
future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from
those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Important
factors that could cause such differences are described in Opteum
Inc.'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including Opteum Inc.'s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K or
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Opteum Inc. assumes no obligation to
update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent results,
changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting
forward-looking statements.
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