Fremont General to Acquire PacificAmerica

Fremont General Corp., the seventh-largest U.S. workers’ compensation insurer, said it will pay $55 million for PacificAmerica Money Center Inc., expanding its home loan business. Santa Monica-based Fremont will pay 75% of the purchase price in cash and the rest in its own stock. The transaction values Woodland Hills-based PacificAmerica at $10 a share. PacificAmerica made $768 million in home mortgages last year through offices in 45 states. The acquisition will more than double Fremont’s home-lending business, which is concentrated in California, said Wayne Bailey, Fremont’s chief financial officer. The combination is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter. PacificAmerica advanced $2.38 to close at $7.25 on Nasdaq. Fremont shares rose $1.25 to $40 on the New York Stock Exchange.