Tax return specialist H&R Block, Inc. has retained Friedman, Billings Ramsey to assist in evaluating strategic alternatives for its wholesale mortgage sub, Option One, which include a joint venture or possible sale. The Kansas City, Mo.-based company purchased the unit, a wholesale originator of subprime mortgage loans, from Fleet Financial Group in 1997 for $190 million. Alexander Paris, an analyst at Barrington Research, said that Option One has been very profitable, but Block’s decision to sell the unit makes sense. The mortgage division is worth more than what Block paid for it, but Block’s focus is not wholesale mortgages, he said. He estimated that any company taking out Option One should expect a price tag of at least $300 million.
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