Wipro to acquire Opus CMC

Wipro Ltd. a leading global Information technology, consulting and outsourcing company today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Opus CMC (Opus Capital Markets Consultants LLC), a US-based provider of mortgage due diligence and risk management services for $75 million that includes a deferred earn-out component.

The acquisition will strengthen Wipro's mortgage solutions and outsourcing business and complement its existing offerings in mortgage origination, servicing and secondary market.

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois, Opus CMC provides comprehensive risk management solutions to the mortgage industry in the United States. It has over 490 employees, including over 315 loan underwriters, spread across five centers in the US.

Opus CMC provides operational and loan level due diligence, valuation support, forensic analysis, and advisory services on all classes of mortgage products, residential and commercial, ranging from re-underwriting whole loans to collateral reviews of securitised pools. Its customers include several of the top global banks, mortgage conduits, mortgage investors, and independent mortgage originators.

''We welcome Opus CMC's employees to the Wipro family,'' said Manoj Punja, senior vice president and head, BPO, Wipro Limited, in a statement. ''This acquisition will help us expand in the high end mortgage BPO segment, and bring differentiated capability with a platform-based risk management offering. Opus CMC has an experienced management team with a deep understanding of the emerging needs of this business. We believe Opus CMC  will continue to lead with their innovative offerings and extend these capabilities to Wipro's banking and financial services customers as well. Our vision is to leverage Wipro's offerings with Opus CMC's capabilities and knowledge base to create an end-to-end offering for all mortgage players, with a greater degree of automation and application of analytics.''

Opus CMC has been successful in building a talented team that can address a wide range of quality management needs for mortgage product sellers, intermediaries and investors.  Its proprietary due diligence platform, encapsulates nearly a decade of business intelligence in loan reviews, and the latest in regulatory requirements.

''We are excited about the opportunity to join hands with Wipro and continue to be a dominant player in the industry with increased range and scale of offerings for our clients. Our industry is at a pivotal point with the introduction of new mortgage regulations driven by the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) and government agencies. Wipro and Opus CMC will jointly assist our clients in navigating this challenging and changing business environment and help build reliable outcomes in mortgage origination and secondary market operations,'' said Joseph Andrea and Jennifer LaBud, co-founders and principals, Opus CMC.

Commenting on this acquisition, Dan Latimore, senior vice president of Celent's Banking Practice said, ''A critical differentiator for mortgage industry participants going forward is the ability to manage risk and identify profitable growth opportunities in both existing loan portfolios and new originations. Execution capabilities in legacy books, combined with deep knowledge of regulatory frameworks and the ability to efficiently implement them, will be essential for success.''

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and will be completed in Q4, FY-2014.

Portico Capital Securities LLC served as the exclusive financial advisor to Opus CMC with respect to this transaction.