HFS Chief Insists that Deal to Buy PHH Is on Schedule

The merger between HFS Inc. and PHH Corp. is on track for its April 30 closing, HFS executives reported.

Henry Silverman, chief executive of HFS, spoke in a conference call arranged to address a Wall Street Journal article that indicated he might leave the company.

Mr. Silverman denied the report and said he is firmly committed to HFS.

Cost savings after the merger with PHH will exceed previous expectations, said Mr. Silverman. Part of the savings will come from consolidating some back-office functions.

PHH is selling its Baltimore corporate headquarters, he added.

HFS' purchase of the Home Mortgage Network from its Coldwell Banker Realty subsidiary is going to be a "gold mine," Mr. Silverman added, because PHH is now the lender operating the network. Previously, Coldwell had been in partnership with PNC Mortgage Corp., Vernon Hills, Ill.

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