Montreal-headquartered Nesto has acquired CMLS Group, Canada’s third-largest mortgage finance company.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, although the companies stated the transaction was supported by investments from Diagram Ventures, Portage, NAventures (National Bank of Canada’s corporate venture capital arm), IGM Financial, BMO Capital Partners, Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Fondaction. With the acquisition of CMLS, Nesto will become the largest technology-enabled lender in Canada with over 1,000 employees across 10 offices and more than $60 billion in mortgages under administration.
The companies added that all CMLS Group executives and employees will transition to the combined entity, with Nesto CEO Malik Yacoubi as the chief executive of the combined entity and CMLS CEO Sam Brown continuing as president and head of the commercial division. CMLS shareholders will have an equity stake in the combined entity.
“This acquisition reinforces our commitment to delivering on our mission: to offer a positive, empowering and transparent property financing experience, simplified from start to finish, to all Canadians,” said Yacoubi. “Combining our strengths will allow us to better serve Canadians and set new standards in the mortgage industry. We look forward to building Canada’s mortgage ecosystem of the future together with our new colleagues at CMLS.”
“Joining forces with Nesto will accelerate our next chapter of growth and further help our people, partners and clients succeed,” said Brown. “I’m delighted to build on our proud history and reputation with a partner who shares our commitment to culture and delivering value to partners and clients.”
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