Hedge Fund Bids for Taylor Bean Assets

Taylor Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp., once the nation's largest independent mortgage lender, is selling a portfolio of mortgage-backed securities once valued at more than $30 million to a hedge fund run by Angelo Gordon & Co. for $8.8 million.

According to court papers filed Tuesday, AG Mortgage Value Partners Master Fund, a Cayman Islands-registered hedge fund, has agreed to buy the mortgage-backed securities from Taylor Bean, pending higher bids at an auction supervised by the bankruptcy court.

Two of the mortgage-backed securities on the block are Taylor Bean's so-called residual interests in securitized trusts the company received when it sold the loans. The five other mortgage-backed securities up for auction were purchased by Taylor Bean in the normal course of business.

A hearing on the rules governing the auction procedures is set for April 16. Until recently, Taylor Bean was the nation's largest mortgage lender not owned by a bank. The company collapsed in August after the revelation that it was the target of an investigation by the Justice Department. The restructuring firm Navigant Capital Advisors has been running Taylor Bean since the company filed for bankruptcy.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER