KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In another major subprime mortgage bailout yesterday, vulture investor Wilbur Ross announced an agreement to acquire H&R Block’s failed subprime mortgage unit, known as Option One.
Ross, one of the best-known buyers of distressed companies, will combine Option One with the $42 billion mortgage portfolio it acquired last year from failed subprime mortgage lender American Home Mortgage Investment Corp, creating the country’s second largest subprime mortgage servicing portfolio, behind only Countrywide Financial.
H&R Block, the nation’s leading tax preparation firm, had agreed to sell Option One to private equity giant Cerberus Capital Management, but the deal fell through when the private equity firm had trouble financing the acquisition.
