H&R Block Plans to Sell Its Mortgage Unit to a Private-Equity Firm

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- On a Monday when the markets were sliding downward because of the Bear Stearns news, H&R Block Inc (NYSE:HRB) announced that it was selling off the mortgage-loan-servicing business of its Option One Mortgage Corporation subsidiary to the private-equity firm WL Ross & Co LLC.

"We have reached what we consider to be a good agreement with WL Ross & Co., whose reputation for completing transactions is excellent,” said H&R Block Chairman Richard C Breeden.

“We believe that this servicing business can best be carried out by an organization like WL Ross & Co. that is committed to continuing and growing the business,” Mr Breeden added.

The personal connections between the two companies’ Directors and Senior Executives could have played a role in striking the deal.

For example, NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map that shows Mr Breeden has connections through MCI Communications Inc to WL Ross & Co’s mergers-and-acquisitions expert Ms Corinne Ball.

To see the details of additional personal connections, click here for an interactive and fuller version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map.

(Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).