On June 5, American Pacific Mortgage (APM) acquired Synergy One Lending (Synergy One), combining two of the top-30 retail lenders in the country, per Modex, to build a national platform “for the next era of retail lending,” according to APM’s press release.
Following the deal, Synergy One Lending CEO Steve Majerus will move to president of APM. Aaron Nemec will continue to lead the organization’s operations as the president of Synergy One, a division of American Pacific Mortgage.
The combined entity now claims approximately $14 billion in annual volume, placing it among the nation’s top retail mortgage lenders. Synergy One will continue to operate as a division under its own brand, preserved via APM’s DBA model.
The acquisition marks APM CEO Dustin Sheppard's first major strategic move since taking the helm in October 2025, following Bill Lowman's retirement after more than 20 years with the company.
But the deal may come as a surprise to APM’s loan officers considering the company’s recruiting page, until recently, explicitly told prospective loan officers, “When you partner with APM, you don’t have to worry about the uncertainty of a merger or acquisition — we’re a thriving independent and employee-owned company and plan to keep it that way.”
Production Growth
APM’s $9.79B production in 2025 combined with Synergy’s $3.53B totals $13.3B. The press release rounds to approximately $14B.
Steve Majerus, a 25-plus-year veteran in mortgage banking, and Aaron Nemec led the 2020 MBO of Synergy One from Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, then grew Synergy One aggressively from a sub-$2B lender to $3.5B in five years.
Synergy One more than doubled volume from 2023 to 2025.
APM has shown stability in recent years, but not growth. Production dipped in 2024, before rebounding in 2025 to near 2023 levels. The numbers show a mature platform in need of a growth injection.
The companies also have complementary footprints. Synergy’s California density adds significant volume to APM's already top-performing market, while the two companies fill gaps in each other's footprints across Texas, Colorado, Ohio, Washington, Illinois, Florida, and Arizona.
The acquisition brings together 1,467 producing loan officers from APM and 296 from Synergy One, for a combined total of 1,763 producing LOs across approximately 2,107 licensed originators, according to Modex. The productivity rate among loan officers is nearly identical with APM at 83.7%, and Synergy One at 83.4%.
Synergy Ownership History
Synergy One has changed hands multiple times over the years. Initially, the lender was founded under a large institutional parent, Mutual of Omaha. In 2020, Majerus and Nemec purchased the company via a management buyout (MBO). They then grew the company aggressively, acquiring Mann Mortgage in 2024 and hitting about $3.5B in volume by 2025.
However, Synergy One’s track record — spun out, privately held, acquisitive, and then sold within six years — reflects a company that has been continuously repositioned rather than built toward long-term independence.
For Majerus, who staked personal capital on the 2020 buyout and spent five years scaling the platform, the APM deal represents a logical next step: trading ownership of a $3.5 billion lender for the presidency of a $14 billion one.
Bottom Line: The IMB Squeeze
The acquisition arrives at a moment when mid-size independent mortgage bankers are facing a narrowing set of options. Margin compression, rate volatility, and the mounting cost of technology investment. For some IMBs, scale is seen as a necessary defense.
APM's own recruiting language underscored that tension. Until recently, the company explicitly marketed its independence as a selling point, assuring prospective loan officers they would not have to worry about M&A uncertainty. Yet, the company has now executed a major acquisition less than a year into a new CEO's tenure, reflecting how quickly the calculus has shifted.
"Scale is becoming essential to win and gives us the ability to invest aggressively in pricing, products, AI, technology, marketing, and customer acquisition," Majerus said in the announcement. "This merger gives us the platform to continue innovating and compete in a market shaped by evolving consumer expectations."
