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Strategies & Market Trends : Cents and Sensibility - Kimberly and Friends' Consortium -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mariah Smyth who wrote (9184)	6/23/1999 10:01:00 AM
From: Ga Bard	Respond to of 108040

Wednesday June 23, 7:56 am Eastern Time Equitex to buy First Bankers for stock ENGLEWOOD, Colo., June 23 (Reuters) - Holding company Equitex Inc. said Wednesday it had signed a definitive agreement to buy mortgage lender First Bankers Mortgage Services Inc. in exchange for 1 million Equitex shares. The deal is part of Equitex's strategy to become an Internet financial services provider. Equitex, which announced plans to buy privately-held First Bankers in May, said it would also make a ''working capital commitment'' to the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company. Equitex, whose stock ended at 11-8/16 on the Nasdaq stock market Tuesday, said it expected to close the deal within 90 days. It did not provide any further details. The signing of the definitive agreement comes about two months after Equitex's purchase of First TeleBanc Corp. as it prepares to begin offering Internet banking later this summer. ''The acquisition of First Bankers represents a logical next step in our effort to build a major Internet financial services company,'' Equitex President Henry Fong said in a statement. First Bankers operates in 25 states, offering retail and wholesale mortgage financing. It originated more than $850 million in mortgage loans in 1998, according to the Equitex statement. ''To capitalize on the rapid growth of the online credit market, First Bankers will further develop its online mortgage services to include credit scoring and prequalification,'' it said.