Fieldstone Accepts Buyout by C-BASS ((CS), (CSGN.VX), (FICC), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEH), MGIC Investment Corp. (MTG), Radian Group Inc. (RDN), (CH001213), (US46

Fieldstone Accepts Buyout by C-BASS ((CS), (CSGN.VX), (FICC), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEH), MGIC Investment Corp. (MTG), Radian Group Inc. (RDN), (CH001213), (US46: "NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Mortgage lender Fieldstone Investment Corp. (FICC) said Friday it agreed to be bought for about $259 million by C-BASS LLC, a purchaser of credit-sensitive assets like home loans to people with poor credit, becoming the latest subprime lender to sell out amid an ongoing shakeout in the sector.
New York-based C-BASS, majority-owned by mortgage insurers MGIC Investment Corp. (MTG) and Radian Group Inc. (RDN), will buy Fieldstone for $5.53 a share in cash, a 113% premium to Fieldstone's closing price Thursday. The two insurers announced plan to merge early this month. Fieldstone's shares recently traded up 95.8%, or $2.49, to $5.09 on volume of 10,3 million compared with average daily volume of 787,600.
The deal is worth $259 million based on 46.9 million Fieldstone shares outstanding, according to CapitalIQ. The purchase price is subject to a reduction of 20 cents a share should Fieldstone not settle litigation before the merger, the companies said. "