Rate Announces Completion of Strategic Investment from Thomas H. Lee Partners
Rate, Inc. (the “Company” or “Rate”), a leading national independent retail mortgage company, today announced that it has closed on a previously announced strategic investment from funds affiliated with Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. (“THL”), a premier private equity firm investing in middle market growth companies. Through its investment, THL has acquired a minority stake in Rate. Company founder Victor Ciardelli continues to lead Rate as President, CEO and Chairman of the Board running day-to-day operations. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The Company has built a national reputation as the preferred home purchase expert by creating and implementing a customer centric vision that is unique in the industry. Built upon the foundation of delivering the best pricing and mortgage products along with unmatched expertise from its top-producing loan officers, Rate has helped thousands of customers land their dream homes. In 2015, the Company introduced the world’s first digital mortgage, creating an easy-to-understand, transparent loan process, which has led to an industry-leading customer satisfaction rating and exponential growth.
“This is an exciting time in our strategic growth plan, as we take market share and drive towards our ultimate goal of becoming the country’s largest retail mortgage lender,” said Ciardelli. “Having the support of THL as a partner gives us added scale and resources to accelerate our growth and further enhance the Company’s value proposition to real estate partners, loan officers and consumers.”
“This closing announcement comes at a remarkable time, as we deliver our third consecutive month of record-setting business performance for the month of May. This positions 2018 to be the Company’s largest year in total loan volume.”
May was the best month in Rate’s history, setting several new performance records, most notably $3.49 billion in locked volume, and 10,981 locked units. Additionally, the Company continues to recruit and hire aggressively across the country. In May, the Company onboarded 91 loan officers, now totaling nearly 400 loan officer hires in 2018.
“With its impressive performance, proven track record, and industry leading purchase origination mix – Rate has outstanding potential and is well positioned to continue growing and winning market share. The Company’s unique technology and innovative platform allow for a seamless customer experience and offer consumers, realtors and Rate’s loan officers a compelling value proposition,” said Ganesh Rao, Managing Director at THL. “Victor and the Rate team have built an impressive leader in the mortgage space, and we look forward to continuing to work with them and supporting the Company’s growth and success moving forward.”