Major lender inks a deal that will nearly double its size

Caliber Home Loans has set its sights on becoming one of the country’s largest independent mortgage companies by expanding into the Pacific Northwest market

Irving, Texas-based Caliber Home Loans has announced it will purchase Cobalt Mortgage, a privately held retail mortgage lender based in Washington. Caliber’s branch retail lending will nearly double in size with the deal, which marks the company’s expansion into the Pacific Northwest region.

The acquisition would create one of the largest independent mortgage companies in the United States. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Caliber and Cobalt share a common vision that real estate is local and that realtors and builders continue to play pivotal roles in helping consumers achieve homeownership,” Joe Anderson, CEO of Caliber, said. “We are excited to partner with one of the strongest and most well-respected retail branch networks in the country.”

As part of the deal, Cobalt co-founders Keith Tibbles and Ernie Gehre will continue to lead the Cobalt division of Caliber. Additionally, Tibbles will serve as executive vice president of Caliber, where he will play an active role in the operations, financing, governance and strategic direction of the company. Gehre will oversee the sales organization of the Cobalt division of Caliber.

The deal is expected to close in early November.

In August 2013, Caliber Home Loans, previously named Vericrest Financial­, finalized its merger with Caliber Funding. The combined organization is owned by Dallas-based private equity firm Lone Star Funds.