Bayview Asset Management Announces Strategic Investment from Blackstone

CORAL GABLES, Fla., July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Bayview Asset Management, LLC
(Bayview), a subsidiary of Bayview Financial, L.P., announced today that it
has entered into a definitive agreement to sell a minority interest in the
company to Blackstone Capital Partners, an affiliate of The Blackstone Group
(Blackstone). The investment from Blackstone will help Bayview
(www.bayviewfinancial.com) continue to grow its business in the secondary
mortgage acquisition and mortgage securities markets.
Bayview currently manages a $2 billion fund that focuses on the
acquisition of whole mortgage loans and mortgage backed securities. Among
Bayview's clients are some of the largest institutional investors in the world
including leading corporate and public pension funds. It is currently the
fourth largest fund of its kind with specific focus in this sector. Bayview
has been active in the secondary mortgage market since 1995 and has closed
loan purchase transactions with over 2,000 counterparties.
Bayview also operates a highly rated mortgage servicer, Bayview Loan
Servicing, which currently services exclusively Bayview collateral. Bayview
Loan Servicing takes a high-touch approach toward servicing with fewer
serviced loans per employee than any other mortgage special servicer.
Bayview's unique position as a secondary purchaser and servicer of the
mortgage loans provides much greater flexibility to work with borrowers to
keep them in their homes and avoid foreclosure. Bayview believes that its
approach leads to a higher rate of loan workouts and modifications for
delinquent borrowers than any of its peers. Working with borrowers in this
fashion creates the most long-term value for the lender. Bayview's servicing
platform gives the company a unique advantage over other asset managers
seeking to deploy capital in this space.
David Ertel, Chief Executive Officer of Bayview, said, "With this
investment from Blackstone, I am confident that Bayview is well positioned to
take advantage of the significant dislocation in the secondary mortgage
market. Our 15-year history of transacting in this market, captive servicing
capability, and substantial capital base should make us a unique solution
provider for financial institutions and other counterparties with residential
and commercial mortgage exposure.
"We built Bayview Loan Servicing 10 years ago because we believed that no
servicer at that time approached borrowers with our philosophy of pursuing
solutions to their problems and ensuring staffing levels that allow
interaction with borrowers on a timely and individual basis. We believe, that
particularly in this market, our approach to servicing will be even more
value-added and appropriate."
Chinh Chu, a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone, said, "We are very
excited to partner with David Ertel and Bayview, a clear leader in the
secondary mortgage market. We believe that there will be tremendous
opportunities for Bayview to purchase mortgage loans and securities as
financial institutions of all kinds seek to raise capital and deleverage their
balance sheets. We also believe strongly in Bayview's high touch approach to
mortgage servicing which favors working with the borrower to find a solution
for their particular situation."
The transaction is subject to approval from state mortgage regulatory
bodies and is expected to close in the fourth quarter. The transaction
involves no debt financing. J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc. and Milestone
Advisors, LLC are acting as financial advisors to Bayview. Deutsche Bank is
serving as financial advisor to Blackstone. Bayview's legal advisors are
Clifford Chance LLP; Schulte Roth & Zabel, LLP; and Stearns Weaver Miller
Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A. Blackstone's legal counsel is Simpson
Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
About The Blackstone Group
The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) is one of the world's leading investment
and advisory firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term
value for our investors, the companies we invest in, the companies we advise
and the broader global economy. We do this through the commitment of our
extraordinary people and flexible capital. Our alternative asset management
businesses include the management of corporate private equity funds, real
estate funds, hedge funds, funds of funds, debt funds, collateralized loan
obligation vehicles (CLOs) and closed-end mutual funds. The Blackstone Group
also provides various financial advisory services, including mergers and
acquisitions advisory, restructuring and reorganization advisory and fund
placement service. More information is available at www.blackstone.com .
About Bayview Financial(R)
Miami-based Bayview Financial(R), a multi-billion dollar full-service
mortgage finance company, fulfills the needs of clients in underserved market
niches by leveraging a network of thousands of financial institutions to
provide clients with a value-added resource for every phase of the real estate
loan cycle. Bayview Asset Management provides a range of products and
services, including residential and commercial special servicing and mortgage
related asset management. More information is available at
www.bayviewfinancial.com .
Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements.
Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may
cause the actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially
from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in such
forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
SOURCE Bayview Asset Management, LLC

Kristin Seigworth, Bayview Asset Management, LLC, +1-877-654-4118,
kristinseigworth@bayviewfinancial.com