Stewart Title of Pinellas, Fla., Acquires Title First in St. Petersburg

February 16, 2007

HOUSTON -- Stewart Title of Pinellas has acquired Title First Inc. in St. Petersburg, Fla.; and Stewart Title Co. has acquired Gulf Coast Title Co. LLC in Brooksville, Fla.

At Gulf Coast Title, existing management and staff have remained with the office, with Kent Eppley continuing to serve as president and manager. The company is the oldest title company in Hernando County.

"Our company is similar to Stewart Title, in that we were established in 1923 and have a longstanding history in the title industry," said Eppley. "We were also very impressed with Stewart's technology, and are really looking forward to combining our history with this new technology to offer a complete package for better service to our customers."

Stewart Title of Pinellas bought a controlling interest in Title First from former owners Dean and Faye Mlinarch. The new office manager, Karen Knoop, moved from the Pinellas organization to Title First to assume her new responsibilities.

"This acquisition gives us a relationship with a mortgage company and real estate brokerage, First Atlantic Mortgage and HomeVestors," said Kevin Hussey, president, Stewart Title of Pinellas.

Source: Stewart Title


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