Mortgage REIT Two Harbors climbs after getting buyout bid rivaling UWM deal

Shares of real estate investment trust Two Harbors Investment TWO.N up 11.5% at $10.63 early Thurs after receiving buyout offer from an unnamed party

TWO says its board received an unsolicited proposal to acquire all of its outstanding shares for $10.70/sh in cash

In Dec, TWO and lender UWM Holdings UWMC.N had agreed to an all-stock merger worth $1.3 bln that would nearly double the latter's mortgage servicing rights portfolio

The current proposal would equate to a roughly $1.1 bln deal, based on Minnesota-based TWO's ~105 mln shares outstanding

TWO says there can be no assurance that its board's ad hoc committee will conclude that the unsolicited proposal is superior, and that prior merger agreement with UWMC remains in effect

U.S. mortgage industry is consolidating as lenders seek greater scale after high interest rates curtailed refinancing activity and pressured earnings

UWMC shares down ~3% at $3.48 on the session and have fallen ~40% over the past year

Including gain on Thurs, TWO shares down nearly 25% over the past 12 months