LoanDepot, one of the nation’s largest direct-to-consumer non-bank originators, is reportedly considering an initial public offering (IPO), according to Bloomberg. The company could be worth an estimated $12 billion to $15 billion, the report said, citing sources with knowledge of the matter who did not wish to be named.
The IPO could come as early as the fourth quarter, according to the report.
The move would come five years after loanDepot first considered a public offering in 2015, which was pulled at the last minute after the company filed an S-1 with the U.S. Securities an Exchange Commission. The 2015 filing showed a company that posted a net income of roughly $69 million in 2015.
The IPO was initially pulled right before the shares were set to be priced, on the heels of slumping stock prices for LendingCorp, a top rival of LoanDepot. Approximately a year after the S-1 was filed, LoanDepot pulled the paperwork.
One of the company’s top rivals, Quicken Loans, went public last month under the Rocket Mortgage brand, with an IPO of 100 million shares at $18 per share. As markets opened Monday, it was trading at approximately $22 per share.
The potential public offering also comes at a time of high mortgage demand due to historically low mortgage rates, which is fueling a massive spike in refinances and new purchases from last year’s levels. Home sales are also blazing past pre-pandemic levels after falling significantly during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
