Fidelity National Acquires Texas Firm
Fidelity National Financial Inc. of Irvine, the nation’s fourth-largest title insurer, expanded its Texas presence Thursday with the $79-million acquisition of San Antonio-based Alamo Title Holding Co.
The deal, which must be approved by regulators and Alamo shareholders, would make Fidelity the second largest title insurer in Texas. Combined company premiums for 1997 totaled $128 million, or 18.6% of the Texas market.
In the transaction, Fidelity will issue 2.1 million shares to acquire 100% of Alamo, a leading insurer of titles in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston.
In New York Stock Exchange trading Thursday, Fidelity shares closed at $37.69, down 13 cents.
To complete the deal, Fidelity will form a new subsidiary and merge Alamo into it. When the merger is complete, Fidelity will have a 15.4% total share in the four largest markets in the nation: California, Texas, New York and Florida.
