Merrill to Buy Last Of Prudential Unit

Prudential Insurance Corp. of America has agreed to sell the last piece of its mortgage unit to Merrill Lynch Credit Corp., according to sources close to the deal.

The price tag for Lender's Service Inc. is close to $30 million, sources said.

LSI, a network of independent real estate appraisers, also provides title searches, title insurance, and loan closing services.

A spokesman for Residential Services Corp. of America, as Prudential's mortgage services company is known, had no comment.

The purchase of Residential Information Services LP, the former Lomas Financial Corp. servicing technology unit, by First American Financial Corp. last month is on schedule to close by the end of April, according to a source with knowledge of the deal.

Norwest Mortgage Corp. also is on track to close its deal to buy Prudential Home Mortgage, the largest of the Prudential units, by the end of April, the source said.

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