Fidelity to use ‘modest’ debt financing for $1.2 billion acquisition

By Devika Patel

Knoxville, Tenn., March 19 – Fidelity National Financial, Inc. said it will fund its planned $1.2 billion acquisition of Stewart Information Services Corp. through a combination of a “modest” debt financing, cash on hand and common stock.

The acquisition is priced at $50 per Stewart common share, which will be paid with 50% in cash and 50% in Fidelity National common stock.

“[Fidelity] currently intends to fund the $1.2 billion purchase price through a combination of cash on hand and [Fidelity] modest debt financing and the issuance of [Fidelity] common shares to Stewart stockholders,” chairman William P. Foley, II said on the company’s conference call announcing the acquisition on Monday.

“Assuming the assumption of $109 million of Stewart debt, [Fidelity’s] pro forma debt to total capitalization is expected to be in the mid to high teens at the close of the transaction,” he said.

The company wanted to avoid taking on “a lot of debt.”

“We felt like the 50-50 [cash-stock] transaction took the stress off having to put a lot of debt on the company,” Foley said.

Closing is expected in the first or second quarter of 2019.

Fidelity is a Jacksonville, Fla.-based provider of title insurance, mortgage and diversified services.

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