Capstone Partners advised Vanguard Title Insurance Agency LLC on its sale to Fidelity National Financial. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Vanguard provides title insurance and escrow services to Utah’s real estate community, including residential and commercial services as well as builders and developers. With nine offices located along the Wasatch Front and two in Southern Utah’s Washington County, the acquisition of Vanguard Title will allow Fidelity National Title to quickly expand its footprint to serve the entire state and complement existing Mountain-West and national operations.
From my first meeting with Capstone, I was impressed with the team’s knowledge, passion, expertise, and genuine concern for me and my partners. The team communicated proactively and consistently, and they made the entire process smooth and enjoyable. Working with Capstone increased the value of our company, and I would definitely use Capstone again on any future transactions.
“Even though our customers will now see a new name—Fidelity National Title Agency of Utah—the Vanguard promise to be more than a title company will continue to thrive through the additional opportunities and resources available to us,” said Louie Hamner, a Vanguard co-owner. “We are very excited about what the future holds.”
“We are absolutely thrilled to be joining Fidelity National Title,” said Jeff Poulton, an owner of Vanguard Title Agency. “Their national reputation, combined with our facilities and talented team, will provide real estate agents, lenders, and developers an unparalleled real estate transaction experience.”
Khelan Dattani, Managing Director at Capstone, commented, “It was a pleasure working with the Vanguard team on identifying an ideal partner that could help provide liquidity to the owners and also grow the company in the years to come. The company’s excellent execution under challenging market conditions in the last two years is due to the management team’s leadership abilities. The title insurance industry and house finance broadly are going to through a significant consolidation phase and that is likely to continue into the foreseeable future.”
“We are delighted to be bringing the Vanguard Title founders, leadership, and team into the Fidelity National Title family,” said Joshua Hall, president of Fidelity National Title Agency of Utah. “Jeff and Steve Poulton, Louie Hamner, and Sue Cragun are well-known in the Mountain-West real estate community. Their visionary leadership team and exceptionally talented employees represent the next generation of outstanding service to the title industry here in Utah.”
Capstone’s Financial Advisory Services (FAS) group also partnered with Vanguard to provide a quality of earnings analysis (QoE) and deal execution support to drive a favorable outcome for everyone in a short time frame. More on that engagement can be found here.
Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF) is a leading provider of title insurance and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries. Fidelity National is the nation’s largest title insurance company through its title insurance underwriters—Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title, Alamo Title, and National Title of New York—that collectively issue more title insurance policies than any other title company in the United States.
