November 12, 2021

Title companies considering selling might wonder what the best option is for them: Merging with another company? Selling the business outright? Partnering with someone?

At this year’s National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) in Naples, Florida, our own Britehorn Partners and Britehorn Securities Co-Founder and Partner Bobbi Babitz Armstrong discussed what to consider when contemplating an M&A deal.

Armstrong noted there is massive consolidation going on in the title industry, spurred by interest from big technology start-ups, the way the threat of cyber fraud is changing the way title businesses run, and the attraction of the industry to private equity firms that currently have a significant amount of liquidity to use.

She said that those interested in taking advantage of this perfect storm may find the whole process to be a mystery.

“We are really trying to break it down to truth by turning to people who have hundreds of transactions between the three of us and dispel some of the myths,” she said. “There are definitely rules of engagement. [We want to] reset or at least create a set of expectations in terms of what the process really is and what people need to be thinking about.”

Armstrong said she hopes attendees walked away from the session with questions to think about and ask professionals when considering a transaction to evaluate whether that offer makes sense or not.