Stewart Title Acquires McKinley Title & Trust of Wasilla, Alaska

February 4, 2005

HOUSTON, /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Stewart Title Co. has acquired McKinley Title & Trust of Wasilla, Alaska. Existing management and staff will remain with the company.

"We are excited about being part of the Stewart organization," said Lynn Baker, president, McKinley Title & Trust. "We know that being part of this larger company will offer more resources for our customers. At the same time, it's been great to experience that while Stewart is a national company, it still retains a friendly, family feel towards its agents and its employees."

Baker, who together with Vice President Mary Moses is a co-manager of McKinley Title & Trust, has been in the title business for nearly 25 years. She has lived in the area since high school. Baker and Moses bought McKinley Title & Trust seven years ago, building it from five employees up to today's total of 24 employees.

Wasilla is approximately 45 miles north of Anchorage and over the past several years has been one of America's fastest-growing cities. Especially attractive for its affordable housing market, the town has become a bedroom community for Anchorage, and is also the center of commercial activity for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. (A borough is similar to a county.) The Mat-Su Borough is 22,683 square miles in size -- nearly as large as West Virginia.

"This acquisition is strategic to the growth of our market share in Alaska and fits well with the broad territorial coverage we have with our independent agents," said Bob Oakland, group president, Stewart Title Co.

Source: Stewart Title Co.


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