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Fidelity National pays $5 million for 4 firms

By John Rebchook, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 13, 2008 at 9:05 p.m.

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Fidelity National Financial Inc. paid $5 million for the four title companies it bought Aug. 5 from Denver-based Mercury Cos., Inman News reported on Wednesday.

Inman News said court documents show that Fidelity paid $1 million in cash and placed $4 million in an escrow account, and took operational control of the title insurance companies. It acquired Security Title, First American Heritage Title, Title America and United Title from Mercury.

Meanwhile, California-based First American Corp., which had invested almost $100 million in Mercury, in court documents said it had a right to approve or reject any Mercury proposals to sell significant assets. First American is taking a $37.3 million writedown on its investments in Mercury, according to an Aug. 8 SEC filing.

First American sought a temporary restraining order blocking the sale to Fidelity, arguing that it would lead to "irreparable harm," according to Inman, which tracks real estate news.

But Mercury attorneys counted that any damages suffered by First American "were due to its own unrepentant greed, and not to any wrongful action by Mercury," according to court documents.