Fidelity Agrees to Buy Lenders Service, Inc. in Big Title Acquisition.

The Alltel deal may have been Fidelity National Financial's biggest headliner of late, but don't forget about LSI.

In a deal the parties said would create "the best solution provider in the business," Fidelity National Financial Inc. announced its agreement to acquire Lender's Service Inc. in January.

The announcement billed Irvine-based Fidelity as "the largest provider of title insurance and real estate-related services" in the nation and called Coraopolis, Pa.-based LSI "the nation's largest appraisal management, residential title agency and closing firm."

MSN affiliate National Mortgage News reported Fidelity's interest in acquiring LSI on January 13. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, which was announced later, were not disclosed.

LSI is slated to continue operations uninterrupted at its suburban Pittsburgh location as part of Fidelity's National Lender Solutions group.

The acquisition adds a range of fulfillment services and products to complement Fidelity's 2002 purchase of loan origination software provider Eastern Software.

"The purchase of LSI signifies a major step toward Fidelity National's goal of building National Lender Solutions into a full-service provider to the mortgage industry," said Fidelity senior vice president Ron Frazier, the National Lender Solutions Division Manager.