Guild Mortgage is acquiring its friendly competitor Academy Mortgage Corporation, gaining 200 branches and more than 600 licensed mortgage originators in the process.
Utah-based Academy Mortgage will extend Guild’s market share across the nation, Guild said in a press release, thanks to the number of employees and size of the business to transition over. Both companies are licensed in 49 states and Washington, D.C.
Academy’s branches will transition to Guild branding and operate as a division within Guild.
Academy’s loan volume will bring in about a 25% increase in annual origination volume for Guild.
Academy Mortgage Chief Executive Adam Kessler will join Guild’s senior leadership team. Guild CEO Terry Schmidt called the acquisition “two like-minded organizations joining forces to continue to grow stronger together.”
“Adam and I have talked over the years, many years, and have been really competitors, but in a good way. As we got to know one another, we really realized how similar our organizations were, and the culture was just such an amazing fit,” she said in a video.
Kessler said their team will be joining a “great big family at Guild that cares deeply about the same things we do.”
Founded in 1988, Academy Mortgage operates more than 200 branches across the West, Central, and Southeast regions. In 2023, Academy generated $5.59 billion in loan originations and was recently named the #1 Top Rated Mortgage Lender on Zillow.
San Diego-based Guild Mortgage boasts more than 4,000 employees across more than 250 branches. The company has doubled down on an expansion mindset despite the market downturn, focusing on acquiring existing lenders and opening new branches.
In the last year, Guild has acquired Legacy Mortgage and Cherry Creek Mortgage, while adding eight branches in California.
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