Apart from the immediate monies, Academy's owners have the opportunity to receive payments based on the performance of the acquired branches in the future, the filing published March 14 said. 

Though some industry stakeholders were shocked at the seemingly low price tag, most have said Academy's owners walked away with a good deal, while Guild has slightly upped its future risk tolerance.

Garth Graham, senior partner at Stratmor Group, pointed out Guild did not pay for the entirety of Academy, just for its branches, which makes a huge difference in understanding the deal.

"That's a premium that they commanded in the current market and it's right in there based on where companies are trading in the form of a premium to their book value," Graham said. "Now they're not buying the book, but that's the premium they're getting for the branch franchise."

Paul Hindman, industry veteran, posits Academy's owners were also likely able to keep their book of business, which further sweetens the deal.

"I'm sure they were sitting on quite a bit of cash from their servicing sale and a lot of other things, which they got to keep, and that part is not going to be included in the SEC filing, but that's generally how these deals are structured," Hindman said. 

Additionally, stakeholders who have participated in merger and acquisition deals in the past, point out the potential earn out from future business generated from Academy's branches is another net positive. 

San Diego-based Guild's purchase hangs on the hope that once the market recovers, more origination volume will be brought in by the additional branches, which can benefit Academy's owners. If this does not happen, however, and the market continues to be under pressure, there can be risk involved for both parties.

"The market improves or the division outperforms the original estimate, the seller does better and if the market doesn't improve and gets worse for some reason, the seller might do worse. It's a shared risk. The buyer may pay more long term, but the buyer may pay less depending on what happened," said Graham.

Apart from acquiring Academy's branches, Guild also entered into a mortgage servicing rights agreement with the lender on Feb. 12. The agreement is expected to close in the second quarter. The mortgage lender did not disclose the cost of that book of business.

The point that most mortgage professionals coalesce around is the industry is going through a rough patch, so the valuation of a company is atypical compared to prices paid years prior. For example, in 2021, Guild purchased Residential Mortgage Services for $196.7 million ,which is significantly more than what it paid for Academy.

"This is not a typical market, so typical valuation methodology doesn't apply," said Hindman.

Brett Ludden, managing director at Sterling Point Advisors, said ultimately this is a "smart move by Academy because there is going to be continued consolidation."

"This industry is going to be tough, and it's certainly not going to be the last deal that you hear about," Ludden added. "I think it hopefully helps give smaller companies some awareness that it doesn't matter how big you are, you need to be thinking strategically."

During the company's fourth earnings call, Guild CEO Terry Schmidt pointed out the number of loan originators at the mortgage shop has ballooned by 34% since November 2022, illustrating "success at growing and retaining our sales team and positioning them to take full advantage of the next cycle in the housing market."

Since the acquisition of Academy Mortgage, Guild has almost 3,000 sponsored loan officers on board, according to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System. Apart from taking on Academy, the lender was on a buying spree last year, acquiring First Centennial Mortgage, reverse lender Cherry Creek Mortgage and Legacy Mortgage. 

And Schmidt hinted that more M&A activity might be in the company's future.

"There's still some excess capacity in our industry…there's owners that are looking for another home with a company that's a little bit larger," she said. "And same thing with loan originators, they're looking for stability and a company that's growing and investing in their future, so we feel like there's still opportunity out there and our strategy's working."

In 2023, Guild experienced an overall net loss of $39.1 million, a notable dip from the $328.6 million net profit reported in 2022. It originated $15 billion of mortgages, down from the $19.1 billion in 2022. A higher interest rate environment and tight housing inventory contributed to Guild's results, company representatives said.